


A Yokai's Kiss

by MilayaMilenZeal, Night_the_Dragon



Category: BlazBlue, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XV, Kamisama Hajimemashita | Kamisama Kiss
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Crossover, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Youkai
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-17
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-11-15 07:07:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 36,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11225850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MilayaMilenZeal/pseuds/MilayaMilenZeal, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Night_the_Dragon/pseuds/Night_the_Dragon
Summary: Based off of Kamisama Kiss, this is a Promptis form of it, along with some other familiar faces from some of our other Promptis fics!





	1. Chapter 1

Prompto sighed heavily from where he sat on the park bench, both worried and irritated. He was irritated because his adoptive father had run off from his gambling debts, leaving Prompto to try and deal with it, only to be evicted due to said debts. Now he was worried because he had no place to call home, and nowhere to stay, even for the night.

“Stupid bastard… Can’t believe he left me to deal with his problems…” he grumbled, lowering his gaze to his feet.

“Ahh! Help! Someone get this dog away, please!” a woman’s voice pleaded, and Prompto blinked, surprised, before looking over to see a blonde woman in a white shirt and skirt stuck in a tree as a large dog barked at her from the ground.

“Hey, leave her alone, man! Shoo!” Prompto scolded the dog as he approached, and it left, barking happily as it ran off. “You okay?” he asked the woman as she climbed back down.

“Yes, I’m fine now. I’m just not the biggest fan of dogs,” she admitted, smiling slightly. “What’s your name?”

“Prompto Argentum,” Prompto smiled slightly as they headed to the bench. “How come you’re out so late?”

“I was actually about to head home. I’ve been away for quite some time, after all… Noctis will probably call me a fool…among other things…” she sighed.

‘ _Noctis? Probably her husband…_ ’ Prompto thought to himself.

“What are you doing out so late yourself?” the woman asked suddenly, tilting her head curiously as she spoke. “Shouldn’t you be at home?”

“Ah, I uh…I got evicted because of my runaway adoptive father’s gambling debts,” Prompto confessed, laughing awkwardly before looking down again. “So, as of right now…I have no home…” The woman seemed to consider this for a few moments, watching Prompto with interest in her crystalline blue eyes. Finally, she spoke.

“You can stay at my home,” she told him, before giggling. “And I won’t take no for an answer.”

“Wait, what?” Prompto uttered, blinking in surprise as he looked at her.

“Here, just follow this map, and you’ll be taken care of there,” she smiled kindly, handing him a piece of paper with a simply drawn map on it. The smaller male took the paper, and right as he looked up from the drawing to thank the woman, she pressed her lips to his forehead briefly, stunning Prompto entirely as she left.

“I’m sure everyone will welcome you as the new master,” she murmured. By the time Prompto had recovered enough to react, the mysterious woman had left without a trace.

“Well, guess I should at least check it out…” the blonde mumbled to himself. Left with the map and nowhere else to go, Prompto began the trip to the woman’s home. When he arrived, however…

“Oh, come **ON** , man! It’s a run-down shrine? Seriously?!” Prompto groaned. He contemplated his options, wondering if it was even worth it to take shelter there for the night. Upon hearing a rustle from the bushes, however, Prompto stiffened, before making up his mind. “On second thought, it’s better than nothing!” And with his mind made up, the blonde scurried into the shrine.

“Hello…?” he called out into the dark depths of the apparently abandoned shrine.

“Welcome home, Lady Lunafreya,” a pair of voices called out.

“Huh? Who’s there?” Prompto frowned, becoming a bit nervous. Suddenly, flames lit up in the torches around the room, drawing a startled yelp from the blonde. “Wah!” In his panic, he tripped over a step in the shrine, falling flat on his face.

“So, it IS you, Lunafreya,” another voice uttered. Prompto looked up to see a mysterious figure in what appeared to be some kind of dark mist, their back to him. “Where have you been, all this time? Making me hold down the fort for twenty whole years…” At this, the figure turned their head towards Prompto, and this time, the blonde was terrified when he realized the person, a man, had black-furred fox ears and a matching tail to match his raven hair. “You are SO dead!” the fox yokai snarled furiously as Prompto very nearly screamed. However, as soon as the raven realized Prompto wasn’t who he thought he was, he paused. “Hey, this isn’t Lunafreya.”

“What? That can’t be right,” a voice said as two of the torches’ flames glided over, hovering before revealing themselves to be a pair of blonde twins, a boy and a girl, except they each had matching blonde tails.

“Noctis, as you can see, the mark of the land god is here on the forehead, exactly where it should be,” the girl said, pointing to Prompto’s forehead, which had a small, glowing yellow spot on it now.

“Yeah, on top of that, I can definitely feel her spiritual energy,” the boy said, also pointing.

“But this _isn’t_ her,” the fox yokai replied with a snort. Looking at Prompto, he asked, “Tell me, boy. Just who are you?” Prompto panicked, shaking violently out of fear. He’d had NO idea this was a yokai shrine. Trembling, the map the woman had given him fell from his hand, and the fox picked it up.

“Noctis…” the boy said curiously.

“Yeah, this delicate drawing is definitely Luna’s,” the raven commented.

“She said that if I had nowhere else to go, that I should live here,” Prompto explained in a shaky voice as he watched the yokai, who appeared probably 10 years older than him physically. ‘ _But wait…this is Noctis? He’s handsome…_ ’

“The woman that you met was the land goddess of this region. And this shrine is the home of the land goddess,” Noctis told Prompto. “The fact that she left you to be its lord and master means that she has left you to be the land god.”

Silence followed Noctis’ words for a moment. But that didn’t take long.

“SWEET!!” the shorter blonde boy suddenly cheered, throwing up his arms and almost bouncing on his feet. “So let’s hurry up and prepare a banquet!!”

“Either way you look at it,” the girl said with a small sigh, “the land goddess has returned to the shrine.”

“Here!” the blonde boy said suddenly with a big grin on his face, as both he and the girl held up two (very) tasty looking dishes to Prompto.

“Hold on just a minute!” Prompto yelped, freaking out. “I’m a land god? A god?!” Pointing at himself, he babbled, “But I’m Prompto Argentum, a photographer! A human being. Why? When in the world did I become a god?”

“That happened,” the girl said as she pointed up to Prompto’s forehead, “when you received that mark on your forehead.”

“Mark…on my forehead?” Prompto repeated, frowning and furrowing his brows in confusion. Suddenly, he remembered when the woman, Lunafreya it seemed, had kissed his forehead. “That? Since then? That was the mark?”

“You call _this_ a god?” Noctis suddenly snarled dangerously. Before Prompto could blink, he was right in Prompto’s face and grabbing him by his chin. “What could a pathetic-looking boy like him even do? At best, I’d say counting the money offerings or weeding the yard is the most he could do!” With an angry snarl, he shoved Prompto away from him. “You couldn’t pay me to accept this _brat_!!”

“H-hey, Noct, c’mon, dude,” the boy got out, as he and the girl shrank back from the fox’s angry shout. “This guy was referred to us by Luna. I mean we can’t just—”

“We don’t need him! Throw him out!”

“Hey!” Prompto protested with a huff as he stood. “You’ve been pretty high and mighty and rude to me! I bet a rundown shrine like this doesn’t even get people making money offerings! You couldn’t pay _me_ to do it!”

At those words, Noctis’s eyes narrowed dangerously and his lips twitched into a snarl. And the twins, catching on to the shift, gulped and hurried to Prompto’s side.

“Please, Lord, don't say that!” the girl said swiftly.

“Yeah, c’mon! We’re super grateful to have you here!” And the entire time they pleaded with him, a litany of no’s spilled from Prompto’s mouth, as he stubbornly shook his head.

“If you think for _one moment_ ,” Noctis hissed out dangerously, silencing the twins immediately, “that I will stay here with this brat, you’re sorely mistaken!”

“Oy, Noct, you can’t just—” the boy started, before the girl took over.

“Noctis, we _need_ you here!”

“See if I care!”

And then with a whirl of cloth an energy, the fox was gone.

“Aw man…” the boy whined.

“Um…” Prompto uttered after Noctis vanished, before looking at the twins. “Would you guys mind setting me up for the night?” he asked quietly, almost feeling guilty to be the reason Noctis had left.

“Eh…? …oh! Yeah, sure, dude! No problem!!”

“Zidane, you honestly need to learn your manners.”

“Oh, come on, Miko! He doesn’t mind. Right?” the boy asked, looking up at Prompto.

“Nah, I don’t mind,” Prompto chuckled.

“See? We’re cool!” the boy said to the girl, who sighed heavily in response.

“You’re impossible…” she murmured, before she turned to Prompto. “This way,” she offered, beginning to walk ahead. Prompto followed after her, and was soon set up for the night. When he woke up the next morning, he blinked before sitting up.

“What a weird dream…” he mumbled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “My dad ran off and the house had been seized…”

As he looked up, though, he came face-to-face with a pair of bright blue eyes. “Morning!” the boy crowed out with a grin.

“Wah!” Prompto yelped, startled by the sudden presence of the twins. “Uh… Good morning…”

“Good morning,” the girl said as well as she pulled her brother back by his tail. “It’s time to get to work.”

“Work?” Prompto repeated, confused.

“Yep!” the boy quipped cheekily as he grabbed Prompto by his wrist and pulled him up. “C’mon, let’s get going!”

“What work are you talking about?!” Prompto wailed as he was tugged up.

“Duh! Your work as the land god!” the boy said with a grin.

“Oh boy…” the blonde land god mumbled, becoming nervous. So, Prompto was stuck with sweeping the yard, scrubbing the walls in the shrine, raking the leaves outside, scrubbing the floors of the shrine, and weeding the yard. When he finished scrubbing the floors and was informed he would have to weed the yard, however…

“These are the duties of a god?!” he groaned, falling back onto the floor, before sitting up and looking at the twins. “But, um… I haven’t said a word about agreeing to become the land god…”

When he said that, both twins became very alarmed.  “D-dude! What are you saying?! With Noct gone, it’s just you who can protect this place!” the boy said.

“We are here to support you when needed, so please don’t hesitate to ask us anything,” the girl added.

“Well, first off, I never got your names…” Prompto pointed out. This made the twins blink in surprise, before they looked at each other. But only briefly before turning back to Prompto.

“I’m Zidane,” the boy said as he thumbed his own chest with a cheery grin.

“Mikoto,” the girl offered with a polite curtsy.

“It’s nice to meet you two,” Prompto smiled slightly, before he frowned curiously. “But uh… Just who exactly _is_ Noctis?”

“Noct?” Zidane repeated with his head tilted. “Noct is Luna’s familiar.”

“Familiar?” Prompto repeated, puzzled.

“Correct,” Mikoto confirmed with a nod. “He’s served under Lady Lunafreya for years.”

“Yeah…though he used to be just a regular wild fox,” Zidane quipped, putting his hands behind his head, “but Lu decided to bring him in the same way as guardian lion-dogs.”

“Yes…” Mikoto sighed. “Because Lady Lunafreya did not like dogs.”

“Oh, I knew that,” Prompto nodded, remembering how Lunafreya was stuck in the tree from the dog the night before. Later, in the yard while weeding by himself, Prompto sighed. “I’ll think of this as the price for them letting me stay here.” Suddenly, he nicked his finger while pulling a weed. “Ah, dammit!” he hissed, looking at his finger.

“Pff… So you don’t even know how to properly weed the yard?” chuckled a taunting voice from behind him. “How pathetic…”

“What do you want? I thought you’d left,” the blonde huffed, recognizing the voice as he looked to see Noctis had appeared behind him.

The black fox chuckled coldly, obviously amused by the trouble Prompto was having. “There’s no way you’d be able to fulfill the duties of a land god,” he said with a cold smirk on his face. “You should just head home before you’re forced to admit defeat.”

“I don’t have any home to go back to,” Prompto retorted, looking away as he resumed pulling the weeds out. “Thanks to my adoptive father’s debts, even the house has been seized already.”

Noctis didn’t say anything in response, even though his amused expression had faded. For a long moment, he just watched Prompto work silently. But then…

“How was I supposed to know that?!” Noctis said as he abruptly kicked Prompto to his ass before disappearing. The blonde growled as he got back up, before looking at the wisps of energy showing Noctis had left.

“What did he come here for?” he wondered aloud. Finally, he finished the work around the shrine, and then trudged inside, collapsing on the floor out of exhaustion. “Man, I’m beat! They call me a god or whatever, but I feel like I’m just being taken advantage of…”

‘ _Dear god…_ ’ a voice suddenly echoed in his mind. ‘ _Please allow my daughter to give birth to a healthy child…_ ’

‘ _I…heard her voice…_ ’ Prompto realized, watching as an older woman prayed in front of the shrine before leaving. “Just now…that was her voice.”

“You bet it was!” Zidane quipped from behind Prompto. “That was the prayer in the heart of the worshipper.”

Mikoto nodded in agreement to her brother’s words. “Part of a land god’s duties is to be seated in the shrine and hear the wishes of those of the land.”

“Anyway!!” Zidane called out, as he and Mikoto hurried off momentarily. Prompto watched in shock as they with a few tall stacks of several books, and he paled.

“What are these?!” he yelped.

“They are a record of all the worshippers’ prayers from the last 20 years,” Mikoto said politely as she set her stack down, with Zidane putting his own on top of hers.

“20 years?!” the new land god gaped.

“Yep!” Zidane chirped with a grin as Prompto took the book from the top of the stack and began leafing through it. “Noct wrote ‘em all down so Luna could look through them when she came back.”

“Although…we have seen a decline in visitors to the shrine since her absence...” Mikoto murmured.

“Yeah, but cuz Noct’s been able to keep the shrine in good shape we still get some visitors every now and again.”

As Prompto looked up at them, Mikoto said, “All the work that we asked you to do today was work that Noctis has taken care of on his own all this time.”

Prompto then began to look through the books further, and upon noticing the neat handwriting and details, he imagined Noctis sitting at a desk while writing down the prayer of a young man at the shrine. Then he remembered how he’d yelled at the raven about the shrine not receiving any visitors.

“I had no idea…” he murmured.

Zidane allowed a small grin at those words, and Mikoto nodded. “Do you understand now, Lord?”

“Yeah, I do,” the taller male sighed. “There’s no way I can be a god.” And with that said, he stood up to leave.

“Eh?!” both Zidane and Mikoto cried out.

“I’m just a regular guy, nothing special about me,” Prompto said, a bitter note to his voice. Neither Zidane or Mikoto seemed to be able to say anything in response. But then their tails drooped and their expressions fell.

“No way…” Zidane breathed out as Mikoto bit her lip.

“I want to apologize to Noctis for what I said before,” Prompto told them. “Can you take me to him?” At those words, the twins tensed.

“O-oh uh...well...uh…”

“What he means is…” Mikoto cut in when her brother couldn’t get the words out, “Noctis is probably...in the world over yonder.”

“What?” the taller blonde frowned, confused.

“The world over yonder,” Mikoto repeated. “In the shadows of grassy fields...in wells…”

“Basically, all dark placed in this world serve as entrances to it,” Zidane added. “It lies between our world and the netherworld.”

“The best way to describe it is as the world of the supernatural,” his sister finished.

“Then, can you take me there? I want to talk to him,” Prompto insisted.

“I’m...not sure that’s a good idea…” Zidane murmured, which made Mikoto snort.

“This coming from the one who thinks everything is a good idea…”

“Hey come on, Mikoooo!” Zidane whined.

“Mikoto merely hummed in response, before she gave a small sigh. “But I suppose there’s no use in trying to talk you out of this…” she said softly, before she turned to her brother. “Shall we?”

“...Yeah, sure,” Zidane mumbled, as he got up. “I’ll get the lantern, then.”

“Thanks,” Prompto murmured, and went to grab his bag, hoping everything would turn out okay.

“As he pulled on his jacket, Mikoto just watched from the doorway for a moment. “...you really intend to leave?” she asked softly.

Prompto sighed heavily. “...I’m no one special, Mikoto… So there’s no reason to stay…”

“But…” Mikoto started, but whatever she wanted to say, she didn’t seem to be able to get the words out.

“Oy…” Zidane called, stepping into the room with a lantern hanging from his tail. “I got it. Shall we go?”

“Yeah,” the taller blonde nodded, and the trio left to seek out Noctis. It was a fairly hefty trek, especially with Prompto having to carry his bag with him, but they managed, with Zidane walking up front with the lantern and Mikoto taking the rear. The twins were silent throughout the trip, which seemed very unusual (at least for Zidane, who’d been the most vocal and active of the two).

They ended up trekking through a dense forest until they reached a gateway.

“Well...here we are,” Zidane said as they stopped right under the gate. “This is the yokai world.”

Prompto blinked, looking for any sign of Noctis. “Wonder where he is…?” he murmured curiously.

Zidane sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. “I might have an idea...but…”

“Let’s hope not,” Mikoto sighed, clearly sharing her brother’s suspicion as they hurried on ahead, toward one of the buildings to the side.

“H-hey, wait up!” Prompto yelped, hurrying after them.

“Oy!! Noct!!” Zidane shouted as they moved along. “Where’re you at, dude?!”

“Noctis!” Mikoto called out, a little quieter than Zidane, but still in a louder than normal tone.

“You’re making a racket, Zidane, Mikoto,” a familiar voice called out from a room they had almost run past. Zidane groaned as he saw where the voice had come from, hitting himself in the forehead while Mikoto sighed and rubbed her temples. Prompto hid in the shadows, out of sight from and the others he could hear with the fox. He wondered what had drawn that reaction from the twins, but wait to come out.

“Dude, SERIOUSLY?!” Zidane demanded as he and Mikoto went inside. “THIS is what you’ve been doing the whole time?!”

“Noctis…” Mikoto said, a certain fierceness in her voice despite how calmly she spoke. “Do you not consider this to be extremely deplorable for a familiar serving a god to be wasting their time drinking and hanging out in a red light district in the middle of the day?”

“You’re shitting me, right?!” Prompto demanded, storming out of hiding as he glared darkly at Noctis. “What the hell, man? You left just to drink and hang out?!”

The moment Prompto stormed in, Noctis almost choked on the sake he’d been drinking, and stared at the blonde in shock, while the two women that had been crowding him watched in confusion and surprise.

The taller blonde narrowed his eyes at Noctis angrily. “I _was_ gonna apologize for what I said last night, but you’re being completely selfish right now!” he snapped.

“O-oy…!” Zidane managed to get out, and Mikoto winced slightly from the shout. Furious, Prompto stomped off, not bothering to make sure Zidane and Mikoto were following him.

“A-ah, wait…!” Mikoto called out, making to follow, only for Noctis to grab her and Zidane by their collars.

“Why the _hell_ did you bring him here?!?!” the fox demanded furiously. “What kind of moron brings a HUMAN to this place?!”

Zidane flinched at the volume before he said, “Well, he was pretty insistent on—”

“Plus he’s not just a human,” Mikoto pointed out. “He’s the land god.”

“That makes it even worse!!” Noctis roared as he leapt up and stomped off after fixing his kimono.

Prompto, meanwhile, was still fuming about the fox. “Fucking jerk…! He’s such an ASS for just abandoning his own home!” he snarled under his breath.

“Hey…” a voice suddenly called out from off to his left.

“Wha—ah!!” the blonde gasped when he saw a bony arm hanging through a window.

“Hey…” the same voice called out as it reached out and grabbed Prompto’s wrist. “Drop by here…”

“H-hey, lemme go!!” Prompto screamed, trying to backpedal and break free of the grip on his wrist as the voice continued to repeat itself more desperately. Before the hand could pull him in, though, there was a loud smack as something slammed into the bony hand, knocking it back and making Prompto stumble back onto his ass.

“Foolish…” a familiar voice suddenly grumbled. As Prompto looked up, Noctis stood there, solemnly removing some imaginary dust from his kimono. “Someone like you is a free feast to those fools,” he said coldly. “You should go back to where humans should be.” As he finished that, he held out a hand. “Stand up. I’ll take you ba—”

**_SLAP_ **

“ _You_ should be the one going home, seeing as it’s precious to you!” Prompto shouted as he stood, withdrawing his hand after slapping the yokai. For a long moment, Noctis only stared at Prompto in shock (probably because the blonde had just slapped him) with one hand nursing his cheek. However, it didn’t take long for his annoyance to catch up again.

“Wh…what did you say?!” he snarled out, before he was right in Prompto’s face. “Someone like you who can’t even protect himself dares to be this cheeky—”

“You’re the cheeky one!” the blonde spat back, refusing to back down.

“Idiot!!” Noctis roared. “You can talk all you want with that huge mouth of yours as much as you want while you can! If I leave you alone, you’ll get eaten before you can even THINK of apologizing for that!!”

“Why the hell would I get eaten??” Prompto frowned, furrowing his brows in confusion.

“Ch… Isn’t that obvious?” the fox snorted. “You’re a powerless boy with the power of a land god. You’re like a duck waiting with onions inside a pot…” At this point, Noctis smirked evilly. “Not that that has _anything_ to do with me!”

“If I’m not with you, then I won’t run into anything like that,” the smaller male huffed defiantly.

“Hoo boy…” Zidane murmured softly from where he and Mikoto had been hanging back, watching the argument escalate. “This ain’t good...”

Mikoto sighed as she approached the pair. “If I may…” she said solemnly, “can we go back soon?”

In response to those words, Noctis snorted and turned away. “Hurry and take him back. I could care less if he cries and clings to me.”

“Just take me back so I can catch my damn bus,” Prompto grumbled, throwing one last dirty look at the fox. Zidane sighed as he held a hand to his head, while Mikoto just frowned sadly.

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

“Hey prom, c’mon, can’t you think this over one more time?” Zidane asked as he scampered after Prompto, who was heading over to the bus stop. “You don’t have to go!”

“It would be better if you stayed,” Mikoto added.

“No, because I’m gonna miss the bus!” Prompto argued. He then checked the schedule before groaning loudly in exasperation. “Dammit, the next one won’t be here for three more hours… Guess I’ll have to wait…” And with that said, he plopped down on the bus stop bench.

“But if you make Noct your familiar you can just stick around and he’ll do what you say,” Zidane suddenly said, making Prompto look up.

“He’s right,” Mikoto added. “If you seal the contract of familiars with Noctis, then he’ll have no choice but the listen and obey your commands.”

“And how to I make Noctis my familiar?” the taller blonde inquired, his interest suddenly highly piqued. On the inside, he was eager at the thought of making Noctis obey him, and his inner self was doing an excited dance.

“Oh, that’s the easiest part,” Zidane said with a grin. “You just gotta kiss him!”

“...Wait, what?” Prompto uttered, his inner self freezing in place.

“If you do that he’ll become your faithful servant,” Zidane said sagely with a cheerful smile, while Mikoto nodded her affirmation.

“Yes. There would be nothing you cannot order him to do.”

Immediately, Prompto darted into the bushes, his cheeks tinted pinkish-red at the thought of having to kiss Noctis.

“Huh? O-oy, Prom!” Zidane called out.

“Lord? Where did you go?” Mikoto echoed her concern.

Ignoring their calls, Prompto snuck off before breaking into a run to get away. As he ran, however, he noticed an old lady sitting on the ground, seemingly in pain. He headed over to her, calling out, “Hey, are you all right?”

“Ah, sorry…” the old lady apologized. “I sprained my ankles trying to get home. Would...you be so kind as to carry me home, young man?”

“Of course,” Prompto nodded with a smile, before he bent down and carefully picked her up. “Where to?”

“Ah, what a kind young man you are,” the lady praised, before she pointed up the hill. “My house is up there.”

“Okay,” Prompto nodded, a faint blush forming and making his freckles stand out from her words before he began the trek up the hill to the lady’s house.

 

X*X(Meanwhile...)X*X

“crap crap crap CRAP!!” Zidane nearly cried out, tugging on his bangs. “What do we do, Miko?! If something happens to him--”

“Then we need to make sure it doesn’t,” Mikoto said firmly. “You stay here and keep looking. I’ll try to convince Noctis to help us.”

The boy sighed as he nodded, “Yeah, you’re probably the best one suited for that job… Good luck.”

“You as well.”

And with that said, the pair split up.

 

X*X(With Prompto...)X*X

Finally, Prompto reached the elderly woman’s house, and he tried the door to see if it was locked. Surprisingly, it wasn’t, and swung open with ease. “Here we are,” he told her, setting her in an armchair.

“Thank you, dearie,” the lady said with a wrinkly smile. “I’m sorry if I was any trouble…”

“Not at all,” the blonde assured her, smiling slightly. “I should probably be going, though…”

“Ah, wait,” the woman said, grabbing his hand before he could leave. “It’s getting late...you should stay the night lest you run into trouble, dearie.”

“Are you sure? That would be nice, but not if it means imposing,” Prompto mumbled, fiddling with his bangs.

“Don’t be silly,” the woman said, waving his concerns off. “It’s dangerous out there...there’s no telling what could happen to such a sweet boy out there in the dark.”

“Well, as long as you’re sure...thank you,” he smiled.

“You’re welcome, dearie. Please, this way,” the lady said as she led Prompto further into the house toward what he assumed was a guest room. The blonde followed her, and made himself comfortable in the bed inside the guest room. “Thank again,” he called softly.

“Oh don’t worry about it, dearie,” the lady said kindly. “Just make yourself at home. ...Oh, by the way,” she said suddenly, reaching out and touching his forehead with a finger. “That’s quite an interesting mark you have on your forehead there…”

Prompto blinked, surprised, before a laughed a bit awkwardly. “It’s nothing, really,” he lied.

“Oh? Is that so?” she asked, not seeming to mind the awkward response. “Well...goodnight, dearie.” Prompto murmured goodnight back to her, before lying down to sleep.

However, before he could doze off, there was a heavy weight falling on top of him, followed by a cry of, “Prompto!!”

“Ah! What the--Zidane?!” Prompto gasped, sitting up only slightly due to Zidane’s weight on top of him.

“Boy am I glad I found you…!” Zidane gasped out, having flopped down over the taller blonde’s legs. “You...you have ANY idea how...how much I ran just now…?”

“A lot, by the look of you,” Prompto chuckled.

“This isn’t a joking matter!!” Zidane nearly cried out as he sat up straight. “We need to get out of here quick!!”

“Why?” Prompto asked, honestly confused.

“This is the den of a witch! THAT’S why!!” the shorter male cried out urgently.

“What? But she looks like an old lady!” Prompto frowned, becoming nervous from Zidane’s panicking.

“C’mon, man!! Surely you noticed SOMETHING being off about her! There’s no way she’d be perfectly ‘normal’!”

Prompto then remembered her unusually long nails and how she could see his mark. “Dammit, now what, then?!” he hissed.

“We gotta get out of here before she comes back…” Zidane said as he reached into his pocket. After a bit of fumbling, he pulled out three long pieces of paper and a calligraphy brush and handed them to Prompto. “Here. These aren’t much and I only brought three of them, but they should help us out!”

“What do I do with these?” the taller blonde questioned, puzzled.

“These are charms,” Zidane explained. “One of the land god’s specialties is that you can write letters on these charms and put ‘m on objects to give them the power you wrote down on the charm.”

“Uh, okay,” Prompto mumbled, before writing something he had high hopes for on one of the charms, before sticking it on Zidane.

“Bwah?!” Zidane yelped.

“Giant god warrior,” Prompto said quietly, his face red with embarrassment as he spoke.

“…oy, dude,” Zidane said dryly as he lifted the charm to look out from under it. “You can’t make something that surpasses your own power.”

“How was I supposed to know?!” Prompto snapped, his face burning crimson.

“…ah, dearie, I heard some noise just now…”

“Ah, crap…!” Zidane hissed.

“Now what?!” Prompto demanded in a low voice.

“…ah! I got it!” Zidane said softly, before he moved over and whispered in the other’s ear. The taller blonde nodded in understanding, before he wrote his own name on the second charm, and stuck it to the wall. “Great! Let’s move!” Zidane whispered, as he opened the nearby window and gestured for Prompto to follow. Eager to escape, Prompto did as suggested, and silently hurried to the window.

Just as Prompto slipped himself out of the window, he heard the “old lady” call out, “Is there…something wrong?” but her voice seemed to distort at the end.

Before he could start to worry, though, the charm on the wall resounded with Prompto’s own voice, calling out, “No. It’s nothing, old lady.”

“Move!!” Zidane hissed softly, urging the taller man to start running. Prompto nodded once before he took off at a swift run, counting his lucky stars that he took up running every day since freshman year of high school.

“That’s not keep her busy forever, though!” Zidane snarled as he ran along with the taller male, somehow managing to keep up despite his shorter stature. “Dammit, Miko…! If you could hurry up, that’d be _real_ great right now…!”

“What do you mean by that?” Prompto asked, not even out of breath just yet.

“Miko went to—huh?” Zidane paused his own sentence as he turned his head, frowning. “…!! Oh shit…! That was NOT enough time…!!”

“She’s after us _already_?!” Prompto gasped, picking up speed on instinct.

“Prom! Hide!” Zidane suddenly called out, grabbing Prompto by his arm and pulling him sideways into the undergrowth.

As they huddled there, the two males waited with baited breath as the witch ran past their hiding spot. Still, they spent several moments more, just lying there, breathing quietly before they even dared to utter a word.

“Shit… I forgot how fast witches are… There’s no way we’re gonna outrun her if it comes down to it…”

Prompto shuddered at the thought of being captured, before he remembered his question from before. “Zidane, what were you telling me earlier before you saw the witch?”

Zidane blinked, before he gave a quiet “Ah” in realization. “Miko went to get Noct to help us…but he might not be willing to listen to her…” he admitted, before a thought suddenly came to him. “…oh wait! You can summon him here with the charm!” Prompto stared at Zidane for several long moments, almost in disbelief, as he thought about it. He then narrowed his eyes.

“I’m NOT summoning him!” he yelled.

“O-oy, dude—!”

“/Found you~/”

“Oh…crap!!”

“Damn it all to hell!” Prompto cursed, before he took off at a swift run, away from the direction the witch’s voice had come from. As he ran, however, Prompto quickly wrote on the last charm before tossing it over his shoulder.

 

X*X(Meanwhile…)X*X

“How long do you intend to waste away here, Noctis?” Mikoto asked in exasperation with a slight tick along her temple as she watched the black fox lazing in the luxurious room. “Do you seriously plan to abandon the shrine like this?”

“I don’t see the point,” Noctis murmured as he stretched along the extravagant pillows and hummed happily. “It’s pretty nice like this… Not having to fuss over everything by serving as a familiar.”

“Noctis,” Mikoto said slowly, and she tried so very hard to keep herself in check. She didn’t get angry often, and at this point, getting angry probably wasn’t going to help any of them. “If you’re quite _done_ with all this loafing around, we need to get back to searching for Lord Prompto.”

“Why?” Noctis quipped cheekily as he snagged up a small bean bun. “I’m a free fox now, after all…why would I need to worry about him?”

“Noctis!” Mikoto ground out, before she blinked as a peculiar sound echoed through the room.

“/Noctis…/” Upon the call, the fox actually looked up, just as a white paper charm fluttered over, flames licking at the paper as it descended. As Noctis held out his hand, as if to catch it, a final echo of “/Save me.../” resounded from it, before it sizzled out of existence.

“…That was one of Lunafreya’s trademark charms, wasn’t it?” Mikoto murmured.

Noctis merely hummed as he rose to his feet. “Yes…and apparently, that boy is being attacked by a yokai…”

“Noct—”

“Perfect timing~” Noctis chuckled before Mikoto could finish the chide. “Might as well go see his crying face…”

 

X*X(With Prompto & Zidane…)X*X

Prompto practically scurried up the tree, seriously wondering if he was part squirrel or something. As he started to slow, however, he chanced a look down and saw…the witch was catching up.

“Son of a bitch!” he shrieked.

“Prom! C’mon! Get up here!” Zidane called out from a few branches higher up.

“Trying to…!” Prompto grunted as he pushed himself up a bit further. Just as he said that, though, the witch grabbed his ankle. “Gah!” he gasped, trying to shake her off. “Lemme go, hag!”

“Well…you seem to be in big trouble, hm?” a familiar voice suddenly called out from the side.

“N-Noctis…!” Prompto gasped in surprise when he saw the fox.

The fox was standing on the branch just off to the side, almost casually. “I flew over after hearing that you were in a bind…”

“Noctis…”

However, before Prompto could get too excited, the fox quipped cheekily, “After all; who would pass up on _this_ level of entertainment, ne?”

“What the—hey!!” the blonde protested, but when he felt the pull on his ankle, he kicked at the witch’s hand, snarling, “Let…GO!!” Her grip loosened, and she fell, but managed to snag onto one of the branches further down. Prompto panted, terrified, as he hauled himself up towards the branch above him so he could prop his elbows onto it.

“What the hell, Noct?!” Zidane shouted down at the fox.

However, Noctis ignored the blonde’s shout as he hopped up to Prompto’s level. “So…” he quipped with a cold smirk on his face. “Do you want me to save you, boy?” he chuckled out. "You _do_ want to be saved, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I do, but not if you’re gonna be a fucking pompous ass about it!!” Prompto snarled.

The fox merely chuckled as he poked Prompto’s forehead with a long nail. “I wouldn’t mind…that is, if you were to cry ‘please forgive this foolish little boy, O great Noctis’… then I wouldn’t be so against helping you.”

“L-like hell I’d ever ask you…” Prompto spat, right before he suddenly slipped, dropping several feet before snatching onto a branch. Noctis actually gasped as he dropped down another branch.

“Prompto, this is no time to be stubborn!” Zidane cried out from above. “Just say it and we can go home!!”

“You _will_ save him if he says it, right Noctis?” Mikoto called to the fox, making him look up to her.

“A-ah. Yes, of course, I would…as long as he says it, I will.”

“Never!” the taller blonde growled stubbornly. “Like hell am I gonna say it!!”

“Prom, just swallow your pride for one moment and just say it, you idiot!!” Zidane screamed.

“Please, Lord! Before you fall!!”

“If I’m gonna have to bow and scrape to this bastard, I’d rather…” And with that said, he lashed out and snatched Noctis’s ankle…right before yanking him down as he let go of the tree, sending them falling to the ground below.

Of course, Noctis yowled out as he was dragged along, and Zidane and Mikoto screamed out in horror as they watched them fall.

“You IDIOT!!” Noctis screamed as they fell. “If you’d just said the damn words you would’ve been FINE!! Do you plan for this stubbornness to kill you?!?!”

Prompto was silent as they fell, before he fixed a sharp blue gaze on Noctis, his hand shooting out to snatch him by his shoulder, before yanking him into a kiss.

‘ _Seal the contract…_ ’ the blonde thought determinedly. ‘ _Do so and…_ ’ His thought trailed off as he released Noctis, and then said firmly, “Noctis…help me!”

Gasping in alarm at the words, Noctis could only stare as rings of energy surrounded both his wrists. And as the whole situation dawned on him, the fox cried out a furious, “SHIT!!!”

“Did he just…?” Zidane choked out in awe, but a small smile was appearing on his face.

“He did…” Mikoto breathed out in obvious relief. “Thank goodness…”

As Prompto shut his eyes, instinctively preparing himself for the inevitable drop, his speed slowed down. And just as he opened his eyes again, he landed lightly in Noctis’s arms, who had touched down on the ground soundlessly. The blonde looked up at the raven in surprise, relaxing when he realized that Noctis was now his familiar.

“What the hell, you bastard?!” came a shrieking voice from the tree as Noctis set Prompto back down on the ground again. “That’s my prey!”

Noctis glared up at the witch with a fiery glint in his eyes, before he lifted his hand, at which point fire sprang up around the limb. “Well…get DOWN here, you stinking hag!!” he roared as he threw the burst of flames at her, knocking her off her perch with a screech of pain.

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

“Because of you, I’m stuck being a familiar AGAIN!!” the fox roared at the tied-up witch as he proceeded to stomp on her back, ignoring her whines and complaints about him hitting a ‘feeble old woman’.

“That guy’s never gonna change, is he?” Zidane sighed out as he rubbed his temples.

“Unfortunately not…” Mikoto murmured softly.

“Noctis…” Prompto said from where he stood, watching as he cursed out the witch, gaining the yokai’s attention. “You came for me.” He paused, smiling softly. “Thank you.” After a moment, he added, “Let’s…go back to the shrine, Noctis.”

“…Ch…fine…” Noctis snarled out, turning away from the blonde angrily. Ignoring the grumpiness practically emanating from the fox, Prompto headed back to the shrine in the company of what he considered to be his new friends…even with one particularly snappy fox.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto makes a match! Yay!

Prompto woke up the next morning feeling surprisingly awake.

“Man, that sure was a weird dream,” he murmured to himself. “My adoptive dad had run off and the house was seized, and I’d become homeless, when a woman gave up her own home for me. But when I went there, it was a rundown shrine and they told me I was a land god… And then that obnoxious yokai named Noctis or whatever went babbling on about this was unacceptable to him and stuff… And then I kissed this Noctis and he ended up becoming a familiar.” He laughed softly to himself. “What a dream, huh?” Then he noticed Zidane and Mikoto watching him from near his feet, and he blinked before his eyes widened in shock as he realized it _wasn’t_ a dream.

“Mornin’!” Zidane chirped with a big grin, while Mikoto nodded her head and said softly: “Good morning.”

“Where am I?” Prompto frowned, noticing how his surroundings looked much nicer now.

“Your room, DUH!” Zidane laughed out.

“But it doesn’t look anything like it did yesterday…” the taller blonde commented. “I could have sworn it was a lot more rundown…”

“That is because Noctis has redecorated it to suit your everyday needs,” Mikoto explained calmly.

“Noctis did? Why?”

“Wha? You really don’t remember, dude?” Zidane questioned, tilting his head. “You welcomed him back as your familiar!”

“And it’s a familiar’s job to serve his god,” Mikoto added. Prompto was silent for a bit, before he remembered.

“That’s right!” he yelped. “That wasn’t a dream after all and…I forced a kiss on Noctis yesterday!” He was honestly shocked with himself, before he forced himself to calm down and asked, “Wh-where’s Noctis?”

Rather than say anything, though, both Zidane and Mikoto pointed to the side at the same time. The blonde looked over, and nearly jumped out of his skin at the sight of the brooding fox. ‘ _I forced him to become my familiar…_ ’ he thought, still shocked with himself. While the fox wasn’t facing him, it was clear to Prompto that the fox was furious, and the anger seemed to be flowing off of him in waves.

“Uh-um…Noctis…?” the smaller male said nervously.

Slowly, Noctis turned his head toward Prompto, but it seemed to take forever before he faced him properly…

“Good morning, Prompto,” the fox said pleasantly, a small smile playing on his face. The blonde watched him, confused by the sudden mood change. “Your bedroom was not very appealing, so I took the liberty to rearrange it while you were sleeping,” Noctis said, not seeming to notice the blonde’s surprise. “I also prepared everything I assume you may need daily.” Prompto continued to stare at the raven, unsure. “…I'm still reluctant,” Noctis admitted then, smile falling for a moment, before it returned as he continued, “But, starting today, I’m your familiar. As long as you give me an order, I shall obey it without hesitation, regardless what it is. So from now, if there’s anything you find to be inconvenient, please, don't hesitate to tell me.”

“I’m surprised,” Prompto admitted, kneeling in front of the fox with a small smile. “I thought you’d be more pissed about being turned into a familiar.”

“Oh, is that so?” Noctis asked with a small tilt of his head.

“But I’m glad you don’t seem angry at all,” the blonde smiled a little wider.

“‘Angry’, you say…” Noctis murmured softly. “Ah, but I’m afraid that’s not even enough to describe it…”

“Wha?”

“I’M BESIDE MYSELF WITH RAGE!!!”

Prompto could only listen and watch in horror as Noctis vented furiously, feeling the blood drain from his face as he fell back.

“Someone like me, a famous familiar even among the GODS…having to serve a powerless little BRAT like you!!” Noctis nearly screamed. “Do you have ANY idea what kind of humiliation this is for me!?” And even then, Prompto couldn’t bring himself to speak. All that escaped him was a quiet whimper.

“It’s so pathetic…!” Noctis snarled as he leapt up and turned away, rubbing at his temples furiously. “I’ve not slept a wink all night…”

The blonde lowered his gaze submissively, unable to stop himself.

“…Whatever…” the fox suddenly said with a heavy sigh. “It can’t be helped…”

Prompto sighed shakily, still shaken up by Noctis’s outburst.

As he turned back to the blonde, Noctis said solemnly, “I suppose the only thing we can do now is train you to become a living god suitable for someone of my caliber.”

This caused Prompto to blink, before he repeated, “Worthy?”

Noctis didn’t respond to that as he waved absently with one hand. “Get dressed. We’ll start your training after breakfast.”

“O-okay…” the smaller male stammered, before standing so he could get dressed. Noctis snorted as he turned and left the room silently. Prompto then looked at Zidane and Mikoto, who hadn’t left yet. “Mind giving me some privacy, guys?” he asked, looking away with a faint blush. The twins blinked before looking at each other. Then, as one, they shrugged, and went away in puffs of smoke.

Once they were gone, the new land god reflected on his kiss with Noctis, thinking about the fox’s soft lips on his own, and realized he liked it. Yeah, he knew he was gay, but he couldn’t seriously consider being with the yokai. The raven hated his guts as it was, so he wouldn’t stand a chance with him, anyway…

Sighing heavily as he shook his head to clear his mind of those thoughts, and nervous as to what exactly his ‘training’ entailed, Prompto got dressed, pulling on a pair of slightly baggy gray pants and a red tank top. Something simple for now, at least, he figured as he slipped his belt through the belt loops of his pants. Once dressed, he could smell the enticing aroma of food, so, giving a pleasant hum, he followed it to the kitchen, where Noctis was finishing making breakfast.

“Smells good,” he murmured. Though Noctis’s ear gave a definite twitch at the words, the fox didn’t actually bother to look up as he finished what he was doing. The blonde pouted briefly, before going over to the raven. “Whatcha making?”

“…Koji salmon with gome-ae green beans and miso soup,” Noctis said simply as he poured the soup into a bowl.

“Smells and sounds much better than anything I’ve had to eat recently,” Prompto mumbled, a brief flash of bitterness towards his adoptive father running through his mind.

Suddenly Noctis hit him on the head with the ladle. “Then get to the dining room, idiot,” he grumbled. The whack drew a startled yip from Prompto, but he complied regardless, going to the dining room. Once Prompto had taken his seat, Noctis solemnly walked into the room as well, carrying the tray of breakfast. He didn’t say anything as he crouched down and set the tray down in front of the blonde, keeping his head bowed ‘respectfully’.

“Thank you,” the smaller male said kindly, and then smiled slightly. “Hey, Noctis?”

“…What?”

“No need to be so formal with me. I won’t be strict with you or anything, ya know,” the blonde chuckled before beginning to eat. Noctis didn’t respond to those words, before he snorted and stood up, striding out of the room. Prompto sighed once he was gone. He was only trying to lighten things between them a bit… Shaking his head slightly, he returned to eating.

After breakfast, Prompto left the dining room to seek out Noctis. “Noctis?” he called. After a little bit of walking around, he finally found Noctis, who was in the middle of filling a small tub of water. “Whatcha doing?” the blonde asked, curious.

Noctis wordlessly set down the jug he’d used to feel the tub. “This is for your training,” he said simply.

“Um, okay?” Prompto said, quirking a brow in confusion.

“Let’s begin then…” the fox sighed out. “Before that, though…the power of a god is what we call ‘Divine Power’. Your divine power will increase as you use it. However; in order for your divine power level to increase, you need to finish listening to and granting people’s prayers.”

Prompto nodded his understanding. ‘ _He doesn’t like me, but he’s still explaining everything to me anyway,_ ’ he thought to himself.

“For example,” Noctis continued, not seeming to notice the shift in attention, “Luna is a marriage god. She’s granted numerous marriage wishes over the years, and her divine power to bind the fates of people is extraordinarily strong.”

‘ _So this is a shrine for marriage, huh? Nice,_ ’ Prompto thought warmly.

“Right…let’s see how strong your divine power is…” Noctis said, before he gestured for the tub of water. “Change this water into sake,” he instructed. “I don’t mind if you use a white charm.”

“This thing from last night, right?” Prompto guessed, holding one of the talismans in his hand. ‘ _All right, I’ll show him!_ ’ he thought determinedly, and then wrote down ‘sake’ on the talisman, setting it in the water. “How about that?”

Noctis didn’t respond immediately, before he said, “Zidane?”

“Yeah, yeah, got it,” Zidane said as he appeared (out of nowhere) with a cup. The blonde scooped up some of the water and he took a sip quietly. Prompto felt nervous as he watched, hoping it worked.

As Zidane swallowed, the blonde tilted his head curiously. “Wow!” he exclaimed after a moment. “I feel like the water’s gotten more delicious! It’s almost like spring water!”

Prompto lowered his gaze, disappointed. “Dammit…”

“…? Where are you going, Noctis?” Mikoto (where had she come from?) suddenly asked, as the fox walked away solemnly.

“I’m going home.”

“That's not fair!!” Zidane shouted immediately, as he and Mikoto grabbed his kimono and dragged him back. “You’re just gonna leave us here to run away again!!”

“ _Let go of me!!_ ”

Prompto sighed heavily, watching the scene unfold. Obviously Noctis had expected some kind of positive result, and so had the blonde himself, to be fair. But he didn’t exactly appreciate the negative response.

Picking up his talismans and the brush, he headed out to the garden to try and practice. He sat in front of one of the cherry trees, writing “bloom” on a talisman, and sticking it on the tree, murmuring the word. Unfortunately, there was no reaction from the tree at all. Not to be deterred, though, the blonde continued to try, over and over again. Since he was so busy with that, though, he almost missed Noctis as the fox silently worked on the garden.

The smaller male perked up when he noticed, however, and for a little bit, merely watched him. As he did, he thought about both himself and Noctis. He could see why the yokai wasn’t impressed with him. The blonde wasn’t much to look at, and had never been much of a physical fighter. He tended to avoid them at all costs if possible, and was often bullied growing up, coming home from school with bruises on him more often than not. The school staff had merely said that boys will be boys, but Prompto scoffed at that. He hated that phrase since it was completely irrelevant.

Noctis, however…he was another story. Obviously powerful, every move he made was graceful, even in anger. He had those dark blue eyes, almost like the ocean, and was attractive in every sense of the word. Prompto exhaled quietly, looking back at the tree with an almost defeated expression. Noctis didn’t seem to notice Prompto staring, too focused on removing the weeds from amidst the grass.

The smaller male’s shoulders slumped a bit as he tried and failed once again, wishing he had at least gotten a _hint_ of success by now. Maybe…he should go find a good place to take some pictures for a bit. That usually cheered him up during his depressing moments. His mind made up, Prompto got to his feet before heading inside to retrieve his camera.

As Prompto got his camera again, a familiar voice quipped, “What’s that for, man?”

“Oh, it’s my camera. Whenever I feel down, I like to go take pictures as a kind of…pick-me-up, I guess you could call it,” Prompto told Zidane.

“Oh?” the shorter blond asked with a tilt of his head, dropping down from the ceiling where he’d been hanging from his tail. “You feeling okay, dude?”

“Kinda hard to be positive when I’m not doing good with this training,” Prompto sighed.

“Well it’s not like you’re gonna be the best at it right of the bat, right?”

“True, but I’m not seeing any results yet…”

“Just give it some time,” Zidane said, patting Prompto’s arm (he was too short for his shoulder). “Time and practice. That’s all you need.”

“Try telling Noctis that…” the taller blonde muttered bitterly.

“Ah, Noct’s just being picky, as usual,” Zidane laughed. “Don’t worry; he’ll come around, I’m sure.”

“I certainly hope so,” Prompto said quietly. He fingered his camera a bit, before lifting it and snapping a picture of one of the cherry trees outside. “I’ll take another once I can get it to bloom.”

Zidane chuckled. “Sounds like a plan,” he quipped.

“Seriously, though. Any tips you can give me?”

“Hm?” Zidane cocked his head. “Hmm…not sure…aside from training, I dunno if there’s anything else that can help.” Prompto sighed.

“Let’s just hope I can catch on quick…” he mumbled, heading back outside with his camera hanging from his neck this time.

“I’m sure you’ll manage,” Zidane said with a smile.

“We’ll see,” Prompto said. He then took his place from before in front of the tree, and began to try again. It was several hours later that Noctis walked by where Prompto had been practicing, and he hummed as he saw the that the blonde had passed out, white charms scattered around him.

“…I forgot to tell you…” he mumbled as he walked over, undoing the top layer of his kimono as he stepped up, “that white charms suck away the power of the user.” With a sigh, he dropped his kimono over the blonde’s shoulders. “You’ll collapse if you use too many white charms…”

“…warm…” Prompto breathed in his unconscious state. Noctis watched him for a moment longer, before he snorted and walked away again. He still had work to do, after all.

“…of-sama…land god-sama!”

“Hm…?” Prompto hummed, before he started to wake up. As he did, he became aware of a pigeon that fluttered down to land by his hands. “Wha?”

“I’m the familiar of my lord,” the pigeon chirped. “I came to deliver a message. This evening, the prince of the swamp will come to greet the new land god.”

“Prince of the swamp?” Prompto repeated, confused. The pigeon didn’t bother to elaborate, though; it just took off again after it’d given its message. “Hey, Noctis?” the blonde called out almost hesitantly. He didn’t want to ask the fox, but didn’t quite have a choice.

At the call, Noctis appeared almost immediately. “Yes?”

“Who’s the prince of the swamp?” Prompto asked.

“Hm?” Noctis frowned in question. “Why do you ask?”

“A…pigeon came and said the prince of the swamp would be by tonight to greet me,” the smaller male answered.

“…” Noctis didn’t respond immediately to that news, before he gave a heavy sigh. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised…”

“Seriously, though, who is he?”

“He’s the master of the Tatara swamp,” Noctis said solemnly, “originally, he was just the incarnation of a catfish. Tatara swamp is a part of the land that Luna protects. After hearing that a new land came has arrived, it’s only natural for him to come to meet you.”

“Really? I’ll need to be ready for him, then, I guess,” Prompto remarked, getting up.

“…” Noctis merely watched him go quietly, before he snorted softly. “That won’t be necessary.”

“Hm? Why not?”

“If they figure out that the land god is a powerless little boy, they’ll never keep quiet about it,” the fox said coldly. “Even if you were to show up, you’ll only be a nuisance.”

“Hey!” the blonde huffed in protest, but couldn’t help be feel the truth in Noctis’s words.

“Listen up, Prompto,” Noctis said, ignoring the outcry. “Stay in your room and do NOT leave until our guests have gone.”

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

That evening, Prompto found himself stuck in his room, moping while Zidane and Mikoto kept him company.

“This is _so_ not fair…” he grumbled.

“C’mon, dude…cheer up,” Zidane said as he patted the man’s back. “Noct’s just worried ‘bout ya, that’s all.”

“I highly doubt that,” the new land god scoffed.

“What Zidane says is correct,” Mikoto offered. “Noctis is just not very good in saying things the way they need be said.”

“If that’s the case, then there’s gonna be a lot of miscommunication between us,” the taller blonde muttered bitterly.

“…although…” Zidane murmured turning to Mikoto. “Think he’s going to be alright? I mean…we ARE talking about Cloud, after all…”

“…you have a point…” Mikoto murmured. “Noctis does always have some trouble when it comes to him…”

Prompto listened, before deciding to see how things were going on his own. Getting to his feet, he slipped out without alerting Zidane and Mikoto, and quietly made his way to where Noctis and their guests were.

As Prompto approached the area where he knew Noctis was meeting with their guests, he got there just in time to hear a woman speaking up. “Strife-sama came here specifically to see the land god, familiar,” she said fiercely. “You realize that not even showing his face is an insult to the prince, correct?”

“I apologize, but I fear there’s little I can do to affect his health,” Noctis said, perfectly calm and collected. “I assure you, once he’s recovered his energy properly we will come to meet with you.”

‘ _Uh-oh…_ ’ Prompto thought nervously, remaining where he was to continue listening.

“Oh is that so?” the woman's voice called out. “We caught rumors of the new land god being a human boy… The reason he can’t come out to see Strife-sama…could it be that he’s shaking with fear?”

“Certainly not,” Noctis chuckled out. “He’s been appointed by the previous land god, Lunafreya. He may be human, yes, but that by means is an indication of inferiority to us.”

“Oh? But according to what I’ve heard…” the woman said, and her voice became almost deadly, “he was attacked by beast only recently…and he sought to get away in quite a hurry.”

Shockingly there was no response from Noctis, aside from the sound of a quiet sip.

“It’s not even funny…” the woman laughed out, “to appoint a HUMAN as a land god…this shrine will surely fall down.” Prompto tensed, mentally preparing himself to go into the room.

“I’m afraid you’re getting ahead of yourself, there,” Noctis said suddenly, startling Prompto and stopping him in his tracks. “Prompto-sama may seem that way…but he’s a very strong-willed man.” He paused briefly, before he added, “And someday, he’ll definitely be able to make the flowers bloom at will.” Blinking in surprise, Prompto looked out to the garden, and was pleasantly surprised to see that the flowers on the cherry blossom tree he’d been practicing on during the day.

“Oh, I see,” the woman’s voice laughed out mockingly, “so you’re a cowardly fox who gets pushed around by a little boy. Is that it?”

Noctis allowed a small chuckle of his own. “Well now…aren’t you being too harsh now?” he questioned. “Saying that…isn’t any different from saying that your master, who came all this way to greet said little boy…is inferior to our god.”

“ _Enough of your cheekiness!_ ” the woman suddenly growled. “I’m telling you to bring the boy out here…or I’ll send your head flying, you fox!”

Noctis didn’t reply, but Prompto could just imagine him smirking. “My…you’re so hot-blooded…” he sighed. “Guess there’s no helping it, then…”

Finally, Prompto mustered up all of his courage, before sliding open the door to the room swiftly, easily making his presence known. As expected, the people in the room immediately turned to him in surprise, and the brief, stunned silence let Prompto get a good glimpse of their guests. There was a woman standing off to his right, with long black hair and large gills in the spot her ears should’ve been. The makeup along her face made her seem slightly more like an actual fish, but she was still human enough to seem normal. Noctis was to his left, halfway to getting up from his crouch, clearly startled.

And across from him, there sat a blonde man, dressed in traditional ceremonial robes, a pair of gills arching along his head, and faint traces of ceremonial makeup was painted across his half-shut eyes, which merely watched the whole with something akin to disinterest.

“Sorry for being late,” he apologized. “My stomach was suddenly hurting, so I asked Noctis to keep you company while I waited out the pain. I’m Prompto Argentum, the land god.” He caught the stunned looks of the woman and Noctis, before bowing his head slightly. “I’m sorry for keeping you waiting.” Kneeling on the floor to join them, he gave the woman a polite yet stern look and said, “Please, sit.” Bowing his head so they couldn’t see his face, he thought in a panic, ‘ _I-I came out here without thinking… Even though I was told not to…_ ’ Opening his eyes and narrowing them in determination, he added to himself, ‘ _Noctis was being threatened, and I couldn’t just stand by. But right now…I’m most afraid of Noctis…_ ’ Even as he thought this, he felt the intimidating aura practically oozing off the raven.

“…Prompto.”

Said smaller male looked at the fox fully, a wave of nerves washing over him.

“You idiot…” the fox murmured softly as he settled next to the blonde and took hold of his wrist lightly. “Why’d you come out here?” Prompto was quiet, looking at Noctis cautiously. “Whatever happened…it would’ve been just me having to endure it…” he said coldly, but as he did, his thumb lightly moved across the inside of the blonde’s wrist. “But now that you’ve come out…I’ve no choice but to protect you.” The blonde lowered his gaze slightly to the gentle grip on his wrist, and despite the fox’s cold tone, he felt a certain…kindness…in the movement along the underside of his wrist.

“So,” the woman suddenly said, drawing his attention, “ _you’re_ the land god?” Prompto nearly stiffened at the almost harsh tone from the woman.

“Pff…just like the rumors go…what a frail little boy,” she said, raising her hands and cracking her knuckles threateningly. “I’ll make you pay with your flesh and blood…for all those insults to Strife-sama.”

“Oh, sorry, but even if my master is right behind me,” Noctis said with a small smirk on his face, “I won’t go easy on you.” And then, his smirk turned into a vicious grin as he raised a hand. “Please don’t hate me…even if I kill you.”

“That should be MY line!!” the woman snarled out.

“H-hey, don’t fight!” Prompto stammered, becoming nervous.

“You’re in the way,” Noctis said as he pushed Prompto backwards, just as the woman screamed and rushed toward the fox. However, Noctis easily ducked under her punch, chuckling softly. “I’ve decided…” he said suddenly, holding a few small leaves between his fingers. “I’ll make fried fish.”

And no sooner had he said that, or the woman screamed—right before she was engulfed in a burst of smoke. Prompto gawked when the smoke cleared an he saw that the woman had been reduced to a simple, regular fish.

“Moderate fire for five minutes,” Noctis said as he snagged up the fish by its tail, grinning devilishly as it wriggled around frantically, “and you have the perfect side dish for breakfast.” Chuckling he said, “So…how’s it feel to be burnt alive by fox fire, hm? Ah…what was your name again…? Ah whatever; I’ll take your stinking bowels out before I fry you and—”

“LET GO OF HER!!” Prompto shouted, startling the fox. It did the trick though; as Noctis instantly released the fish, and even held up his hands, with a look of pure shock on his face. “That’s complete overkill, man! Since the fight is over, sit down and make up with her!” he growled, watching the obedient actions from his familiar.

As Prompto watched, he couldn’t help but be surprised as Noctis did, in fact, sit down, and shook the little fish’s fin to “make up” with her.

“You’re being awfully obedient…” Prompto commented.

“…heh…I see…” came a solemn voice from behind him, suddenly. This drew the land god’s attention to their guest with a curious noise.

During the time he’d not been paying attention, the blonde man had stood up, revealing that he was a good deal taller than Prompto, though it was difficult to tell anything about his physique. “So that’s the ‘word power bind’ spell used for familiars, huh…?” he said with a slow, almost uninterested drawl. “…so you truly are the land god.”

‘ _He finally spoke?_ ’ Prompto thought, before repeating the taller blonde’s words. “Word power bind?”

“Oy, Prom,” Zidane hissed out, appearing behind the blonde suddenly. “An order that’s given by the god becomes words with power that bind the familiar,” he explained. “The more powerful the order, the stronger the force behind it becomes. Familiars are restricted by the power of those words. It’s part of the contract between a god and a familiar.”

“Damn you, Zidane!!” Noctis hissed under his breath. “I told you _not_ to tell him about that!!”

‘ _That’s…good to know…_ ’ Prompto thought to himself with a faint smile.

“See?! That’s why I didn’t want him to know…!” Noctis almost whined pathetically.

“Familiar to the land god…” the prince suddenly spoke again. “This poor Tifa is still inexperienced…so I request you to please forgive her…and I apologize for her brashness…” he said, neither his expression nor his tone shifting at all. “I did not come here to quarrel… Rather, I came here with a request…”

“A request? What would that be?” Prompto inquired, curious.

“I came here…to ask the land god to grant my bond-tying prayer.”

“Bond-tying? So…a love story?” the shorter blonde guessed, rubbing the back of his neck.

The prince merely nodded his head once, and Noctis hummed curiously. “Alright…tell us about it. Once they had all seated themselves again, the man spoke.

“I only met him once…ten years ago at Tatara swamp…” the prince murmured, sounding almost thoughtful. “I…fell in love with a human boy… His name is Zack Faire…from the new residential area…” He paused here, and a small, almost fond smile played over his face. “I do not know what it was about him…but even though he was only an eight-year-old child…I felt drawn to him…more than I should…” Prompto listened intently, leaning forward a bit.

“Since then... .it’s been ten years…heh…” The prince paused to chuckle softly. “He must have grown into a fine young man by now…” At this point, though, he expression returned to the uninterested one it had been upon Prompto’s entry. “However…I cannot met him in this form…” At this point, he looked up to look at Prompto solemnly. “I want to tie the interrupted bond between him and I once again. Prompto-dono…would you please grant my wish?”

“He won’t.”

The declining words made Prompto’s gaze switch to a surprised glare at the source, Noctis.

“Lord Cloud, you know that love between a spirit and human is forbidden,” Noctis said firmly. “You, of all people should know this.”

“I do…” the prince admitted, lowering his head. “I _do_ know…” As the taller blonde spoke, however, Prompto could truly see the longing in Lord Cloud’s blue eyes. Making a decision, he nodded.

“I understand,” he said. “There may not be much I can do, but I’ll do my best!”

“ _What?!_ ” Noctis nearly shouted, but Cloud merely smiled softly.

“Thank you,” he said with a polite inclination of his head.

Prompto smiled kindly back, thinking to himself, ‘ _I’m sure it’s a love that won’t be fulfilled, but that’s exactly why he came to ask a god. No matter if it’s a human or a spirit, we all have this man’s feelings…_ ’

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

“Good morning Zidane, Mikoto,” Prompto greeted the twins the next morning in his search for Noctis.

“Ah…good morning…” Zidane mumbled from where he and Mikoto were standing around a hatch in the floor.

“Where’s Noctis? Have you guys seen him?” the taller blonde inquired, idly wondering what they were doing.

Mikoto sighed softly as she looked at the hatch. “It seems Noctis is in quite a bad mood…” she admitted. “He’s locked himself in his room after the prince went back…”

“Yeah,” Zidane mumbled, pointing to the hatch. “He’s down there.”

“In any case, Zidane, let’s go prepare breakfast.”

“Huh…? Oh, yeah, let’s go.”

Prompto sighed quietly once they were gone, knowing it was about his choice. ‘ _Noctis stopped me, but I didn’t listen… I still appeared before Cloud… I even promised him…_ ’

“Are you mad…about yesterday?” he asked quietly, toeing the middle of the hatch. “I’m…really glad you covered for me last night…” Remembering the fox’s words to their guests from the night before, he smiled slightly. “I’ll…do my best…”

“What are you talking to yourself for?”

Prompto jolted with a sharp gasp, not having expected anyone to be there, and looked behind him to see Noctis standing in the doorway, and he huffed. “Where were you?” he asked, folding his arms over his chest.

“On the roof,” Noctis said simply. “The moon was really beautiful, so I was just watching it and, I guess, I just fell asleep there…”

“Were you listening to me?” the smaller male asked softly, unfolding his arms and lowering his gaze.

“If it’s about Cloud, don’t bother. I won’t listen anyway.”

“I’ll apologize to him later,” Prompto said, frowning at the raven’s reply.

“Oh, right…” Noctis said before he could leave entirely, and he turned to look back at him, “don’t get involved in that case anymore. Humans and spirits can’t be bound together.” After a brief pause, though, he added, “And besides, what can you do?”

“I won’t know that if I don’t try!” the blonde snapped, his eye twitching in irritation.

“I’m pretty certain of you not being able to, even if you don’t try,” Noctis pointed out.

“Even humans and spirits can love each other, too!” Prompto argued, getting in Noctis’s face.

“That category is based solely on human’s standards,” the fox said, barely affected by the proximity.

“That’s enough. I’ll go by myself,” he growled, beginning to leave.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going into town. I’ll try searching for this Zack on my own,” Prompto replied coolly. Noctis watched as Prompto moved to walk through the door, but the words he’d spoken made him tense sharply. He remembered Lunafreya speaking similar words about going to town, asking him to take care of the shrine until she came back…and then she never came back.

“…wait.” Before Prompto could leave, Noctis grabbed hold of the blonde’s shoulder. “I’m going too.”

“Fine, but you’re not gonna go out with in those loose clothes,” Prompto muttered, gesturing to the raven’s kimono.

“Wha…?!”

“You heard me. I didn’t stutter,” the smaller male snorted, a faint smirk curving his lips.

“…ch!”

Eventually, Noctis managed to get dressed in something more appropriate for their venture out, and Prompto smiled contently as he went a few feet ahead of his familiar.

“Ah, haven’t been out in town for a while,” he sighed happily to himself. “Haven’t been able to, but it’s nice to get back out again.” Fingering his camera around his neck a bit, he asked, “Has it been a while since you’ve been in town, Noctis?” He then looked back at the yokai.

“Yeah, it has,” Noctis said solemnly…not seeming to notice that everyone was either staring or pointing him. Or, more specifically, his ears and tail. Immediately, Prompto paled, before snatching the raven’s hand in his and racing off to where they wouldn’t be gawked at.

‘ _Dammit! I forgot about his ears and tail!_ ’ Prompto panicked to himself.

“…better?” Noctis asked after he’d used a leaf to get rid of his ears and tail. The blonde looked, and was pleasantly surprised by the raven’s human appearance. Sure, it was minor, but somehow, Prompto found himself missing the yokai’s usual look.

“Y…yeah,” he nodded, before pulling out a map from his jacket pocket. “Let’s see if we can find this Zack Fair guy…” As they headed back into town, Prompto happened to see a frequent client of his that enjoyed his photography. Becoming nervous, as he didn’t want to be spotted, he looked at Noctis. “Hey, Noctis? Let’s go get some ice cream,” he said, trying to keep himself in check.

Noctis frowned suspiciously at that. “What’s with you suddenly?”

“I’ll explain in a sec,” Prompto muttered, before leading the raven to his favorite ice cream place. Besides, it was the only place to get his all time favorite flavor, and it would be a nice distraction for a bit. Once they were seated, the blonde took a small bite of the teal-colored ice cream, wanting to savor the taste.

Noctis didn’t seem overly interested in the ice cream, even though he ate it quietly. After a while, though, he looked up. “So?”

“Ah, right…” Prompto sighed, setting down his spoon. “I saw a frequent client of mine back there. Every time he sees me, he always finds some kind of photographing job for me, and I didn’t want to get dragged into it right now. Granted, he pays well, but it’s not a good time while we’re trying to find this Zack guy.”

“…and how does eating ice cream here help?” Noctis asked dryly.

“It was a quick way out, and besides, when I first started photographing for people, I always came here as a reward when I got paid,” Prompto explained, before a familiar voice to the blonde called out to him.

“Yo, Argentum!”

“Eh? Reno?!” Prompto yelped, startled by the redhead’s presence.

“Where’ve you been? And you got a guy with you?” Reno smirked.

“I-it’s not like that! Get out of here!” Prompto snapped.

“Hey, is it true you got evicted from your place?” the redhead continued, ignoring the smaller male. He then gave a taunting grin. “Lots of rumors going around now that your old man ran off ‘cause of his debts. Or that your house got confiscated and you’re living in the parks, ya know?”

“That’s not it! He got a job transfer!” Prompto huffed, panicking on the inside.

Noctis, meanwhile, was watching the ‘argument’ silently, but there was a definite glare forming on his face as he continued to watch. The scene, to Noctis, seemed less like an argument and more like a teasing squabble…which annoyed him to no end. Snarling, he stood up and grabbed Prompto by his arm, dragging him up.

“Let’s go,” he said firmly.

“Hm? What’s wrong with you?” Reno sneered as he turned his gaze to Noctis. Prompto stiffened in the raven’s hold, hoping Reno hadn’t rubbed Noctis the wrong way too much. The redhead tended to grate on people’s nerves, yeah, but he was a good guy when it came down to it. Unfortunately, this was not one of those moments.

Before Reno could get anywhere near them, though, Noctis firmly put his finger up to the redhead’s forehead, nail first, and he hissed, “Don’t touch him so casually...you damn _brat_.”

“STOP IT!! Prompto shouted in Noctis’s ear, before turning to a stunned Reno. “You okay? Reno?” He then glared at the raven. “What are you thinking, starting a fight like that?!”

“Don’t shout so close to my ear like that!!” Noctis immediately yelled back. “And none of this would’ve happened if you’d just focused on your damn job!”

“I _am_ focusing on my job!” Prompto snapped, noticing a raven-haired guy wearing employee clothes from the ice cream shop checking over Reno.

“You okay, man?” he asked, concerned. Reno seemed a bit too shocked still, though. The employee then looked at Prompto and Noctis, attempting to calm down their fight. “Guys, no need to fight!”

“No you’re not,” Noctis snarled angrily. “You’ve way too many attachments to this world! So eventually you’ll just come back here!” This seemed to fizzle out the blonde for a moment, and he almost felt the faint, familiar burn of tears behind his eyes.

“If you say you’re here to do your job, then you have remember WHY we came here!!”

“I came to find Zack!” the smaller male growled irritably, and then the employee near Reno perked up.

“Wait, you guys are looking for me?” the raven asked, quirking a brow. This immediately gained the pair’s attention, and he grinned, saying, “Name’s Zack Fair!” At those words, the pair regarded the employee for a moment in surprise, before they looked at each other.

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

It was dark out by the time Prompto managed to meet with Zack again, hopefully to set up the meeting with Cloud. He headed into the park at a hurried pace, and soon met with the raven, who looked like he was playing a game on his phone.

“Hey Zack,” Prompto greeted with a grin. “Thanks for waiting. Sorry for asking you out here so suddenly…”

“Oh, it’s fine. I can handle myself this late, anyway,” Zack chuckled.

“And I’m sorry for that fight we had in the shop earlier,” the blonde apologized, lowering his gaze apologetically.

“Hey, no need to worry about that!” the raven grinned, comforting Prompto. “Anyway, you wanted to talk to me about something?”

“Yeah,” the smaller male nodded. “Do you remember the guy you met at Tatara Swamp ten years ago?”

“Ten years ago…” Zack suddenly murmured, seeming to think as he looked at the ground. “…Sorry, I don’t remember anything… And after going through a lot of trouble to find me, by the sound of it…”

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it!” Prompto assured him with a wave and a smile. He then noticed the game pulled up on Zack’s phone, and he asked, “Is that King’s Knight?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah!” the taller male grinned, perking up. “I don’t have too much going for me, but when I play games, even on my phone, it keeps me going.” He began tapping on the screen again, a content smile in place. Prompto felt his smile falter, before he spoke up again.

“My friend has had a crush on you all this time,” he said, the words making Zack’s hands slow then still. “His name is Cloud Strife. Would you mind…meeting him once?”

Finally, Prompto got Zack to agree, and as he was leaving the park, he was surprised by who greeted him at the entrance.

“I think that went pretty well!” Zidane chirped.

“Certainly seems like it…” his sister murmured.

“You guys came here?” Prompto asked, tilting his head slightly in confusion.

“Yeah, Noct asked us to come pick you up here,” the shorter blonde boy quipped.

“Where _is_ Noctis?” the taller blonde inquired.

“He went to pick up the coach.”

“Coach?”

“Behind you,” a familiar voice called out calmly. Prompto looked behind him, and sure enough, Noctis was there, standing in a coach with dark mist swirling around the bottom.

“Whoa! What is this?” Prompto asked, a thrill running through him as he went over to the fox.

“This was Luna’s favorite coach. It’s called the night fog coach,” Noctis said solemnly, before he shrugged. “Since it weaves through the darkness, it can only move at night, though. Anyway, if you’re done talking to Zack, let’s go back to the shrine.” Prompto then began to try and climb in, but found it was a bit too high for him.

Zidane and Mikoto easily hopped up, and Noctis silently walked to the back. “You should hurry up, as well. I’m about to start it up.”

“H-hey! Wait up!” Prompto yelped, beginning to panic.

“…If you don’t want to go back, you can just stay here,” Noctis said solemnly, not even bothering to look back.

“Ah!” Prompto gasped, still struggling to climb in.

Finally, Noctis cast a glance over his shoulder. “…That’s what you want, right?” he asked. “To stay in the human world…”

Glaring, Prompto yanked his camera’s case (which had backup batteries and memory cars in it) over his head from his neck and chucked it at Noctis’s head. “Don’t be stupid and help me in, dammit!” he spat. “Do you seriously plan on leaving me here?”

“Gah!!” Growling angrily, Noctis glared at the blonde, before he sighed and walked over. “You really are so slow…” he mumbled, grabbing the blonde’s arm and pulling him up.

‘ _As always, he has a bad attitude, but…I don’t hate those hands,_ ’ Prompto thought as Noctis helped him up. As Prompto settled himself, the coach started off.

“Seriously…” Noctis mumbled from where he sat. “Can’t weed the yard…can’t get on the coach…ch…” Prompto rolled his eyes at the fox’s grumbling, but then spoke up again.

“By the way, about Cloud. There’s a favor I want to ask of you, Noctis,” he said.

“Huh…?”

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

“YOU BASTARD!! WHERE IS STRIFE-SAMA!?”

“You’re too loud…” Noctis sighed out as the pissed of servant of the swamp prince stomped in, screaming her head off.

“HE WAS CALLED OUT BY THE LAND GOD AND HE STILL HASN’T COME BACK!!” she shouted furiously. “Don’t tell me you turned him into a fish and ate him!!”

“ _You’re_ the only one stupid enough to be turned into a fish,” Noctis said simply.

“…You’re too loud, Tifa…”

This gained both of their attention, and Prompto grinned as he presented Cloud to them. “He looks good, right? I let him use an outfit I had that was too big for me. Thought I’d fit into it at some point, but hey. It works out!” the blonde told them proudly, then looked at Cloud. The taller blonde was wearing a high-collared sleeveless indigo shirt, black pants and boots, with black cloth covering his left leg and arm. “What do you think?”

“My prince…!?” Tifa cried out in shock, paling as she realized that not only was Cloud _dressed_ as a human, he also _looked_ human.

Noctis hummed as he stepped up, one hand to his chin thoughtfully. “Right…like this, he won’t suspect you to be a spirit,” he said with a small nod.

“Ah…” Cloud murmured, his expression barely changing. “So…it’s okay to meet him like this…?”

“However, I must warn you,” Noctis pointed out, tapping the prince’s forehead. “It’s hard for my transforming magic to hold onto a human form. The moment you use any of your magic, you’ll go back to your spirit form.”

“…Right,” the prince said solemnly with a small nod.

“Come on, Cloud, let’s go meet with Zack,” Prompto grinned, beginning to lead the taller male to the meeting place.

“Ah…right…” Cloud murmured, quietly following after. “…Prompto-sama?”

“Hm?”

“…Thank you,” the prince said softly with a small smile on his face.

“Of course,” Prompto smiled back.

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Meanwhile, at the park, Zack was sitting on the same bench as before, tapping nervously on his phone as he fidgeted a bit.

“He’s late… Was I made fun of?” he wondered quietly. “There’s no way there’s a guy who says he likes me…”

“…ah…is that you, Zack…?”

“Huh?” the raven uttered, perking up, and seeing a blonde man approaching him. He blinked, surprised by the almost…powerful, yet alluring aura the man radiated off. ‘ _This must be him…_ ’

The blonde man didn’t say anything else initially, and his face didn’t give anything away, either. In fact, it was almost as if he didn’t have any emotion whatsoever when looking at him like that. Zack started to get nervous, squirming a little under the intense gaze, before he finally managed to speak.

“You’re Cloud, right? S-sorry, I almost thought you weren’t gonna make it,” he laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. He then quickly tucked his phone into his pocket. “I wasn’t bored or anything, I swear!” he babbled, embarrassed.

The blonde just watched him as he continued to babble on, his expression remaining completely impassive, still. However, before Zack could start to get even more nervous, the man’s lips curled up into a smile. “…it _is_ you…” he said softly. “…you…still ramble on and on…”

Zack stopped speaking, his eyes widening, and then something seemed to click for him, and he recognized the man, the memory of ten years ago hitting him, and he smiled, gesturing for Cloud to sit by him.

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

As the pair sat together, Prompto was hidden a ways away behind a tree, Noctis nearby him.

“That’s awesome. Reunited for the first time in ten years,” the blonde smiled warmly.

“Pfft…” Noctis snorted. “It’s just a transient rendezvous between a human and a spirit…”

“Don’t say that!” Prompto huffed. “At least, not for today.”

“I’ll say whatever I must…” Noctis said, even as he kept his gaze on the pair sitting on the bench, snorting softly as Cloud scooted closer and actually leaned up against Zack. Zack’s eyes widened at the closeness, and he almost seemed alarmed.

“W…why are you getting so close?” he asked softly.

“I missed you…” Cloud admitted shamelessly.

“How can you say that, though? We met briefly, like, ten years ago…” Zack replied quietly.

Cloud cocked his head momentarily, seemingly in confusion (even if his expression didn’t change), before he said, “But I love you…”

The raven blushed brightly, before looking away slightly. “Suddenly telling me you love me, even though it’s been ten years… I’m kinda at a loss…” His hands twitching for his phone, he murmured, “I see… I don’t know why a guy like you would love me, but…you’re gonna be disappointed right away…” And unable to help himself, he retrieved the device from his pocket, delving into a game with a heavier blush.

“…?” Cloud watched curiously as Zack booted up King’s Knight, tapping the screen almost nervously. “…what is that?”

“It’s King’s Knight. It’s a game. You haven’t heard of it?” the raven asked, relaxing as he looked at Cloud again.

Cloud shook his head “no”, moving over so he could look at the screen a little better. “…how does it work…?”

“You have to tap on your character, and then tap on the enemy you want to target,” Zack explained, smiling as he became a bit more at ease. “The stronger your character, the more damage you do. And the faster you take ‘em out, the more points you get.” As he spoke, he gave a triumphant noise as he beat a group of enemies.

“…ah…they’re already gone…?” Cloud asked curiously. “…that’s amazing…”

The compliment drew a shy blush to Zack’s cheeks, before he smiled at Cloud. “Wanna try? I’ll get us some drinks while you try it out.”

“…ah? Is…that okay…?”

“Of course! Wait here, I’ll be right back,” the raven grinned, handing Cloud his phone before heading off to get them each a drink. As he ran, Zack couldn’t help the silly grin on his face at the thought of actually being with Cloud.

Cloud, of course, didn’t catch the grin, as he was too focused on playing King’s Knight. He’d never known humans had such odd devices to play games.

Prompto watched in excitement, happy for the two when he saw Zack’s grin.

“Yes!! Score one for the good guys!!” Zidane cheered.

“Impressive…to finish your first job so fast,” Mikoto said, a small smile on her face, as well.

“Thanks, guys,” Prompto smiled at them, before Noctis spoke, catching his attention.

“You might want to stop celebrating…your job isn’t finished, _yet_.”

“Huh?” Prompto uttered, before noticing some wannabe punks that had gathered around Cloud, obviously wanting to pick a fight. Unfortunately, with Cloud not being able to use any of his own magic or anything, he was pretty vulnerable at the moment.

“Seems like you think you’re tough,” one of the punks smirked.

Cloud looked up briefly for a moment, regarding the men for a few moments, before he snorted softly and turned back to the phone. “…not interested.”

“What, you’re gonna be a bitch and not fight?” the other guy taunted, before the first one snatched Zack’s phone from Cloud.

“Shit…!” Prompto hissed as he watched, unable to do anything at the moment.

“…ah…!” Cloud stood up and reached for the phone. “Give that back…”

“And why the hell should I?” the first punk smirked, and Prompto panicked.

“We gotta do something!” he growled.

“No, we don’t,” Noctis said firmly. “That’s not your job. Humans have to move forward on their own.”

Prompto watched helplessly as Zack returned, the raven watching nervously.

“They can move, if they have even a little power. And your job is simply to push that back.”

‘ _W-what do I do? Those guys are gonna beat him to a pulp!_ ’ Zack thought worriedly. ‘ _I want to—no, **need** to help, but I can’t move!_ ’ Suddenly, he felt an encouraging push to his back, and he ran forward, determination on his face.

As Zack chased off the so-called punks, Prompto looked at the talisman that he’d written Zack’s name on that he’d stuck to a tree. “I wonder if my push reached him… Hey, Noctis!”

Noctis was holding his head in one hand, groaning heavily. “You actually pushed his back…you’re so simple-minded…”

“But… It looks like those two have moved forward,” the blonde argued softly, watching as Zack handed Cloud his drink, smiling softly.

“…I suppose so…” Noctis murmured…before he actually allowed a smirk. “Well…good job…for now.” Prompto pouted, before rolling his eyes, simply taking the compliment.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter made me giggle. XD

Prompto groaned as he lay on his stomach in front of the TV. ‘ _As usual, no visitors…_ ’ he thought, completely bored.

“You could always take some pictures, dude?” Zidane quipped as he came over, holding Prompto’s camera.

“Yeah, if Noctis even lets me go out without a remark,” Prompto muttered, snorting. Then his phone went off, causing the blonde to perk up. Surprised, since no one had called him in ages, it felt like, he looked at the caller ID and saw it was one of his old friends that hooked him up with photography jobs.

“Hey, man! Long time no ring!” he teased as he answered.

“You do realize I’m not one of your guy pals, right?” came the familiar feminine voice on the other end.

“I know, Shixona, just messing. So what’s up?” he asked.

“I got a job for you,” she answered.

“Why am I not surprised? That’s usually the only reason you call,” Prompto chuckled.

“Hey, I’m allowed to check in when I _do_ call, right?” Shixona giggled. “Anyway, the client this time is Amane Nishiki, that travelling performer guy. You know, the one who’s been on TV a lot recently?”

“Yeah, I know who he is,” Prompto nodded. “So, am I just supposed to meet up with him to find out when and where and all that?”

“Yup. I got you set up for tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 at the coffee shop near our old high school,” she informed him. “He’s expecting a lot, so don’t hold back!”

“Never have, never will, Shix. Thanks a ton,” he smiled.

“Anytime, Prompto! I hope to hear how it went soon!” she laughed, and then hung up. After Prompto locked his phone again, he looked at his phone.

“That was unexpected,” he murmured.

“What’s all this fussing about?” Noctis asked as he walked over.

“I got a call from an old high school friend, and she always gets me good-paying photography jobs, and this time, she set me up to meet with Amane Nishiki, a famous travelling performer,” Prompto explained eagerly. “I’m meeting with him tomorrow.”

“No you’re not.”

“Wha? Noctis, I gotta go, though! This is huge for me!” the blonde argued. “Besides, it’s not like we’ve been having any visitors.”

“Are you stupid?” Noctis snarled, before he reached up and poked at Prompto’s forehead. “You have the mark of the land god on your forehead now. You’re a walking billboard for any demon roaming the streets.”

“Then why not come with?” Prompto offered, shrugging.

“Because I have my own duties here!”

“But we don’t have any—”

“And _you_ should be trying to master your power properly!”

“No matter what you say, you can’t bind me here,” Prompto huffed, turning away. “Although, I can bind you.” This was said with a smirk.

“Guh…!” Noctis tensed, snarling softly, before he sighed. “…Fine. If you want to go that much, I’ll let you go…”

“Yes!”

“However…” Noctis interrupted the blonde’s celebration, “I do have one condition.”

“Eh?”

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

The next day found Prompto pouting as he left the shrine, his camera around his neck, dressed in his slightly baggy gray pants, red tank top, black boots, a black vest…and a black beanie covering the mark on his forehead. He grumbled to himself on the way to the coffee shop, but as he got close, he felt a buzz in his pocket, and he retrieved his phone to see Shixona had texted him.

‘You look ridiculous! What’s with the beanie?!’ her text read.

‘What are you doing here?! It’s fine!’ he texted back. ‘ _Not like I had a choice, anyway…_ ’ he thought irately. ‘ _Thanks a ton, Noctis…_ ’ He remembered the fox’s insistence on wearing the damn thing, and nothing he said would change his mind.

‘Well, hurry up. I’m just here to vouch for you if needed. I’m in the back corner,’ her reply read. Prompto pocketed his phone again before seeking her out. He soon spotted the brunette, who was sipping on a smoothie as she waited for him.

“Hey Shixona!” he called with a pleased smile. “Long time no see, huh buddy?”

“Yeah, really. But don’t worry about the beanie, you’ll be fine. Amane should be here any minute,” Shixona replied with a giggle. Looking up, she soon perked up. “Ah, there we are.”

As soon as Prompto turned to look, a tall, lithe man walked the coffee shop, long purple hair (probably dyed, he figured), tied up in a traditional bun at the top of his head with a fancy, decorative hairpin. His lips were painted a pale red, and he had a similar shade of eyeshadow surrounding his eyes. What stood out the most about him, though, was the incredibly flashy pink kimono that he was wearing, which instantly made him stand out from the crowd.

“Over here, Mr. Nishiki!” Shixona called, gaining the man’s attention, and he headed over to join them. “Sit down, Prom. I’ll get you your favorite once I find out what Amane wants.” Prompto nodded, becoming nervous for the first time as he sat down. Once Amane had joined them, Shixona smiled pleasantly, using her full charm like she did when she was trying to get her current boyfriend, Jin, to date her. And look where they were now…considering he never paid attention to her much originally. “Mr. Nishiki, this is Prompto Argentum, the photographer I told you about. Prompto, this is Amane Nishiki, as you know,” she smiled warmly, introducing the pair.

“Nice to meet you in person, Mr. Nishiki,” Prompto greeted, holding his hand out to shake Amane’s.

The man regarded Prompto with a curious glance, his blue eyes regarding him in such a way it was like he was studying him very carefully. Finally, though, he offered a kind smile. “A pleasure, to be sure,” he said as he accepted the hand, bringing to attention the fact that his nails were much longer than that of any other man, and painted a light bluish-purple.

In fact, if it wasn’t for his deep voice, he could’ve easily been mistaken for a woman.

“Would you like something to drink, Mr. Nishiki?” Shixona asked politely. “My treat for you coming out here to meet us.”

Amane hummed in thought for a few moments, one delicate finger placed along his bottom lip, before he smiled and said, “Well, I certainly wouldn't say ‘no’ to some Ginseng tea, if you’re treating.”

“No trouble at all,” the brunette laughed lightly. “Prompto, your usual, right?”

“Yeah, thank you,” the blonde nodded, and then Shixona left to get their drinks. Once she was gone, Prompto focused on Amane again and asked politely, “Would you like to wait until she gets back to see my work, or would you like to start looking through my photos now?”

Amane chuckled politely at the question, before he said with a smile, “Ah, I must admit I am rather curious of your portfolio, dear…so, if you don’t mind…”

“Not at all,” Prompto replied, pulling said item from his messenger bag. He then slid it across the table to Amane, and said, “This is just a sample. I have a ton of pictures saved on memory sticks dating from back in high school.”

As the man lightly leafed through the numerous pictures, he hummed a little to himself, as he lightly held up his hand with the other hand. At the same time, though, Prompto became aware of the subtle buzz around the shop.

Glancing around them, Prompto noticed a majority of the customers in the shop were whispering and murmuring as they watched the two, the volume increasing slightly when Shixona returned with their drinks.

“Here you go, Mr. Nishiki, one Ginseng tea, and for Prompto, a vanilla bean blender,” she smiled, setting their respective drinks in front of them. Seeing how Amane was looking through Prompto’s portfolio, she inquired, “What do you think so far, Mr. Nishiki?”

“Aah…it does have…a certain charm to it,” the man murmured thoughtfully. However, as he raised his gaze briefly, Prompto could’ve sworn the pupils were…vertical. “It’s rare to see such raw talent in a single shot…”

“Thank you, Mr. Nishiki,” Prompto said gratefully, bowing his head slightly.

“He’s everything I told you and more, right?” Shixona laughed lightly, making he friend blush shyly.

“That I can agree to,” Amane chuckled. “Although…”

“Hm?” both Prompto and Shixona hummed curiously.

“I must ask, dear…what’s with the cap, hm?”

“Ah, I’m just still getting over a cold, is all,” Prompto lied with ease, smiling.

“That so…?” Amane murmured with a soft hum.

“Yeah, but I’m fine now, just still get the occasional chill,” the blonde chuckled.

“So, would you like to set up for a session, Mr. Nishiki?” Shixona asked.

“Hihi…sounds like a plan.”

Prompto brightened at the words, a grin spreading across his face.

“Perfect! Then we’ll set that up for whenever you need it done, and I’ll let Prompto know when and where,” Shixona giggled. “Thank you again, Mr. Nishiki.”

“Yes, thank you,” Prompto agreed, grateful that the celebrity was actually going to hire him on for a photo session.

“Also, please, dears; just call me ‘Amane’,” the performer said with a smile.

“Sure thing,” the pair laughed lightly, and once things were settled, Amane left. Once it was just Shixona and Prompto, the brunette sighed as she plopped back down in her seat.

“At least that’s taken care of,” she murmured.

“How’ve you been, Shixona? Like I said yesterday, I hardly hear from you these days,” Prompto asked, and she smiled.

“I’ve been good. Jin still doesn’t speak much unless he deems it necessary or appropriate, but it’s funny how we still mesh so well,” she replied. “How about you, though? Have you found that special guy yet?” She then gave him a stern look. “And don’t lie to me. I remember you telling me about that back in junior year.”

“No, no one yet,” the blonde replied, thinking about Noctis. No, he didn’t stand a chance with the fox, especially after what he’d said during the situation with Cloud and Zack.

“Aw, come on! I can tell you’ve got someone in mind, though!” she insisted, smirking.

“Okay, yeah, I might!” Prompto pouted at her persistence, blushing.

“Well, why not go for him? What’s keeping you back?” his friend questioned, her gaze softening.

“He hates my guts, and I don’t think I’ll change his mind,” Prompto sighed, making Shixona frown.

“Why would he, though? You’re a great guy!” she huffed. “Anyone, guy or girl, would be lucky to have you, Prom.”

“Thanks, Shix…” he murmured, before starting to get up. “I’d better get going, that way I can get myself ready for whenever the job is.”

“Yeah, same here, except otherwise I’ll hear it from Jin,” Shixona giggled. “He’s probably wondering where the hell I’m at by now.”

“It was good seeing you again, Shixona,” Prompto smiled at her.

“Same here, Prompto. I’ll talk to you soon, once I find out the details, okay?” she told him, and he nodded.

“Right. I’ll be waiting for that call,” he chuckled, heading out. “See you soon!” His friend merely waved and smiled as he left, returning to the shrine. As soon as the door was closed behind him, he pulled the beanie off, grumbling. “Can’t believe I had to wear this thing… I looked like an idiot…”

“You look like an idiot either way.”

“You couldn’t be the least bit nice to me?” Prompto huffed, glaring at the yokai as he entered the room.

“I don’t do nice,” was Noctis’s only response.

“Apparently not, you ass,” the blonde muttered, idly wondering why he had even come back in the first place as he headed to his room.

Noctis, however, followed. “So…done with your outing?”

“Just for today. He liked my pictures, so he’s gonna set up a date and time for the actual photo shoot,” Prompto replied, shrugging off his vest with his back to Noctis.

“Why is this even necessary?” Noctis snarled softly.

“It’s my passion, and I enjoy taking photos,” the blonde spat, becoming defensive. “It makes me happy when I take pictures, even if it seems stupid to _you_.”

Noctis glared at the blonde, before he snorted and walked off, heading for the kitchen from the looks of it. Not leaving the matter alone, Prompto followed him. “Isn’t there anything you have a passion for, Noctis?”

“I don’t think that’s any of your business.”

“Maybe you’d understand better if you were deprived of your passion, whatever it might be,” the blonde growled, stalking back off to his room as he felt tears forming in his eyes.

Noctis watched him go with a small frown, before he hummed and put a hand to his chin in thought. ‘ _…There’s a yokai’s smell on him…this could be bad…_ ’

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Finally, it was the day of the photo shoot, and Prompto had flat-out refused to wear the beanie, arguing that he didn’t want to look ridiculous in front of the performer again. He took off from the shrine, heading out to catch the bus to the location, an excited grin on his face.

‘ _I can’t wait to show my stuff on the set,_ ’ he thought eagerly. Once he arrived, he was pleasantly surprised to see Shixona there.

“Heya Shix!” he called in greeting, and she grinned.

“Hey Prom! Not wearing that dumb beanie today, I see. Over your little cold completely, I take it?” she smirked, knowing he’d lied back during the meeting.

“Yeah, I’m good. So, where do I start?” the blonde asked eagerly, nearly bouncing in place with excitement.

“Good morning, dear~” Amane chirped as he walked over, followed by three young children and a slightly older man. “My, it’s so warm today, isn’t it?”

“Just a bit,” Prompto chuckled. “So, Amane, where am I starting at?”

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

“This is preposterous!!” Noctis snarled angrily as he sipped his sake in annoyance. “Is he going to make me watch him all day? Ch… I haven’t even had a chance to think of dinner, yet!”

“C’mon, dude, it’s not THAT bad…” Zidane mumbled. “Give the guy a break, will ya?”

“Absolutely not.”

Mikoto sighed, mumbling something along the lines of ‘Never going to change…’

As Noctis took another sip and watched Prompto work, though, his expression darkened. ‘ _I’m sure I smelled a yokai on him yesterday… There’s no way it’s not here today, either…_ ’

As the trio watched Prompto taking the photos, the blonde had a content smile on his face, showing he was completely in his own realm and at ease as he snapped photo after photo. Eventually, once Amane was finished with the performance, they all took a break.

“Well done, everyone,” Amane praised his small troupe, patting the three children on their head. “Why don’t you boys take a break, alright? We’ve been working real hard today.”

“Mind letting us take a break, too?” Shixona asked, and Prompto snorted on a laugh.

“You haven’t done anything!” he laughed.

“I’ve been making sure all goes well,” she replied smoothly.

Amane laughed at the words, using a colorful fan to cool himself off a bit. “Sure, dears, be my guests.” As they made to walk off, though… “Oh, right, Prompto, dear? A word, if I may?”

“Hm? Oh, uh, sure!” the blonde grinned, rubbing the back of his neck before following Amane. Once they were alone, well away from the set and everyone else, Prompto said, “So, what’s up?”

“Well, you see, dear…” Amane said casually as he absently fanned himself. “This is something I’ve been wondering about for quite a while but…” He paused then to hum thoughtfully. “Gosh, how do I put this…?”

“Hm?”

“Well, I suppose I’d best be blunt....should you not be a bit more…oh, I don’t know… cautious, dear?” he asked, lightly pressing his fan to his lips…and as his blinked, his eyes seemed to glow ominously as the pupils were now _definitely_ vertical. “After all…it wouldn’t do for a land god to go around unprotected, hm?” Prompto tensed, before shaking his head quickly.

“I…I better go,” he said quickly, and then quickly left, panicking. ‘ _Maybe Noctis was right about that stupid beanie…_ ’ he thought worriedly.

“Goodness me…how rude…” Amane murmured, shutting his fan. “Perhaps someone should seriously consider reeducating that boy…”

“I thought I smelled a cocky bird around here…” a cold voice suddenly said from behind Amane, making the performer tense in alarm, before he whirled around to face the coldly smirking fox. “Though to see a tengu here, away from the mountains… I’m surprised… I’d have assumed your kind to stay far away from here.”

‘ _Dammit…! Just had to be a kitsune, didn’t it?!_ ’ Amane thought with a small glower, before he huffed. “Hmph…so you actually saw through me…” he murmured. “Well then…sorry, dear....but can’t have you going around talking about that,” he said, snapping his hand out—which caused the sleeve of his kimono to split up into numerous ribbons launching themselves at Noctis, who only just managed to dodge the assault of fabric.

‘ _Whoa…! Was not expecting him to manipulate cloth like that…!_ ’

Amane laughed as he snapped his other arm forward and upward, the fabric spinning around into a menacing drill that almost hit Noctis right in the face. “Not bad, foxy~ Once I’ve become the land god, I certainly wouldn’t mind having you as familiar, dear…”

“Oh?” Noctis quipped from where he was standing on a tree branch, well out of reach now. “You intend to become the land god?”

“Fu fu fu…of course…” the purple-haired male murmured. “All I’d need to do is eat the little dear’s heart, hm?”

At those words, a cruel smirk played along Noctis’s face, as he reached up and pulled loose a leaf from the tree he was in.

“Wha…?!” Amane blinked, before he yowled as a burst of wind rushed at him, throwing a mess of leaves into his face.

“You know, tengu, I’m glad now that Prompto’s the land god now…” the fox cackled softly. “If it means that it’ll make more people like you chase after him… I’ll NEVER be bored!!” And then, as he threw his hand forward, he shouted, “So, let me give you a hand in thanks!”

Meanwhile, Prompto was almost back to the set, when suddenly…

“What the hell?!” the blonde yelped, jumping to the side as a peacock dashed by. No sooner had he done so, though, or a burst of fire suddenly flew after the brightly colored bird. He then paled. “Noctis’s will-o-wisp…? What’s he doing here?” He then saw as the peacock ran, it was getting stuck in the bushes around the area, thanks to its long tail feathers. Then finally, it collapsed in an exhausted heap, and Prompto glared in what he assumed was Noctis’s direction when he saw the familiar ribbon-like piece around its neck.

“NOCTIS!! GET DOWN HERE!!” he yelled.

The moment he finished the yell, Noctis appeared in a puff of smoke. “Now what?”

“You are _so_ lucky he didn’t get close to the set! Why is Amane a damn peacock?!” the blonde demanded.

“You’re _welcome_ for trying to protect you,” Noctis snarled out. “That guy’s not a human; he’s a tengu hailing from the mountain region.”

Prompto stiffened, before turning his glare on Amane, who was still a peacock. “What the hell, man?!” he growled, practically throttling the bird by the neck. “You had me convinced you were a famous human performer, dammit!!” Finally letting go and sighing, he looked at Noctis. “For now, just turn him back…”

At those words, Noctis actually **pouted**. “But tonight’s dinner…”

“Look, Amane,” Prompto sighed, looking at the bird. “I’ll save you this time, but don’t try anything with me again, and don’t bug me, okay?” Looking back to Noctis, he said, “Just change him back.”

“Aww…” Noctis nearly whined, before he sighed and flicked his hand up, which immediately turned Amane back to his normal self—though this time he also had a pair of large wings coming from his shoulder blades, and his hair was completely mussed up and coming undone.

“Ah…I-I thought I was gonna die…” the tengu choked out, shaking slightly. Prompto then noticed something with the tengu.

“Amane…”

“What?!” the man snarled as he rose. “If you have a problem with me being what I am—”

“You’re hurt,” the blonde interrupted, pulling out his old first aid kit from his bag. He hadn’t had to use it for a while, at least. “I’ll help.”

“Eh…?” Amane blinked, even as Prompto treated the (rather miniscule) wound.

“Well, you’re a famous performer, right? You gotta keep your looks, otherwise you’ll be out of work,” the smaller male pointe out as he put a bandage on Amane’s cheek.

"Y-yes, I suppose so..." Amane mumbled absently as he adjusted his hair.

Noctis regarded this for a moment more, before he frowned with a snarl. “Hold on…so in the end _I_ get yelled at and _he_ gets his wounds treated! What gives?!”

“You weren’t the one that got hurt!” Prompto snapped, giving the fox a pointed look.

“Only because of my superior skills!”

“What were you doing here, anyway?”

“I was here because of you!”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I own Shixona as my OC, and Jin is Milaya's.

“Prompto Argentum…” a slightly hoarse voice murmured as electric blue eyes regarded the image presented. “A human land god…” And then the image was crushed between well-manicured hands. “How disgusting…” the voice snarled. “I’ll not stand for this!!”

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

“Hm...?” Noctis blinked as he looked up at hearing yet another crash of thunder. “…Seven crashes in a row…looks like poor ol’ Light’s got her bolts all rattled, huh?”

“Yeah…and it sounds like she’s getting closer, doesn’t it?” Zidane got out.

“I suppose…” Noctis mumbled as he continued working on breakfast. “…by the way…is our god still not up yet?”

That’s when there was a yawn from Prompto’s doorway, and he grumbled, “Feels too early right now…”

“Finally woke up, huh?” Noctis mumbled as he regarded the blonde from the corner of his eyes.

“Y…yeah,” the blonde murmured, yawning as he spoke before going to sit down.

Once Prompto appeared to be slightly more awake, Noctis picked up the tray he’d prepared, took a small breath, and then moved over. “Today’s breakfast includes yoshino kuzu ankaka, rice porridge and my special gomadoufu.”

“Thanks, Noctis, smells delicious,” Prompto murmured as he smiled slightly at the fox. Noctis didn’t bother to say anything in response, as he instead walked off to do whatever other duties he had to worry about. “Geez, I feel like I got hit by a truck or something, ugh,” Prompto grumbled as he took a bite of food.

“Didn’t sleep well, huh?” Zidane chuckled.

“Guess not,” Prompto sighed once he’d swallowed.

“Did the storm keep you up?” Mikoto asked worriedly.

“I think so…can’t really remember,” Prompto answered with a shrug.

“Oh well, maybe Noct’ll let you take a nap after breakfast,” Zidane quipped.

“Probably not,” the taller blonde chuckled. Humming at the pleasant taste of his breakfast, he added, “Noctis is such a good cook. I wonder if Lunafreya was a gourmet?”

“No, gods have no need for earthly foods,” Mikoto pointed out. “But since you’re a human god, Noctis has been working hard to learn how to cook every day for you.”

“Yeah, even though he doesn’t look like he does,” Zidane chuckled out.

“I didn't know that…” the land god murmured, looking down at his food.

“That guy’s just a big worrywart,” Zidane chuckled. “Just don’t tell ‘im I said that.”

“Then I wouldn’t say that at all, what with his hearing,” Prompto pointed out with a laugh.

“Hey!”

But before Prompto could respond, his phone went off.

“Hm?” Prompto hummed, before answering his phone when he saw who it was. “Hey Shix!”

“Hey Prom, I was wondering if you’d be up to meet up with Jin and me for lunch today,” she said, making the blonde grin.

“Absolutely! I haven’t seen Jin in a while, so it’d be nice to see him, too,” he replied.

“Perfect! We’ll see you at noon at the usual spot,” she laughed, and then hung up.

“Huh? Who was that?” Zidane asked curiously.

“An old friend of mine from high school. She wants me to meet with her and her boyfriend today for lunch,” Prompto answered, smiling contently at the thought of being with his friends again.

“…Should you not have consulted with Noctis, first?” Mikoto asked after a moment.

“Oh come on, he can’t keep me stuck here forever,” the taller blonde huffed.

“Dude, ya gotta tell ‘m, though…”

“I will, I just don’t think I should have to ask permission.”

“Ask me what?”

“I’m going out to lunch with a couple of good friends today,” Prompto answered Noctis casually as he resumed eating.

“…” Noctis regarded Prompto for a long moment, and Zidane and Mikoto watched him worriedly, likely expecting the fox to flip. However, rather than say anything, Noctis tossed the beanie at Prompto and walked out again, carrying a big basket along his back. “Whatever…”

The blonde rolled his eyes at the raven as he left, mentally promising himself he wasn’t going to wear the damn thing once he'd left the shrine. Zidane and Mikoto probably caught the look, but they didn’t say anything about it.

Later, Prompto was leaving the shrine to join Shixona and Jin for lunch, and as soon as the shrine was out of sight, he pulled the beanie off his head before shoving it in his camera case. As he walked, he grew more and more excited he closer he got. Eventually, he arrived at the restaurant, and looked around for Shixona.

“Over here!” came her voice from a booth nearby, and he looked to see his friends sitting there.

“Hey Shix, Jin,” Prompto greeted as he slid into the opposite side of the booth from them.

“Hi Prom,” Shixona smiled. The brunette male beside Shixona didn’t even look up from where he was absently doodling on the back of a coaster with a marker, though he did hum briefly.

“How have you been, Jin?” Prompto asked, guessing the guy probably wouldn’t even answer.

“…mm.”

“I’ll take that as good,” the blonde chuckled, and Shixona laughed.

“That’s probably as much of a conversation you'll get from him, especially when he’s drawing.”

“True.” Prompto then noticed his usual drink in place, and smiled. “You know me a bit too well for it to be normal, Shix. It’s kinda creepy.”

“Don’t be mad just because I have a better memory than you,” she smirked.

“Hey!”

As he said that, though, there was a sudden (though light) pressure on his head and along his shoulders, followed by a curious, “Wow, you guys went WAY back didn’t ya?”

“Hm?” Prompto frowned, looking around for the source.

“Heya~” Zidane chirped cheerily.

“Wha?” Prompto yelped, making Shixona quirk a brow at him.

“What’s wrong, Prom?” she asked, concerned. Jin hummed a bit as he looked up from under his bangs, but he didn’t seem the slightest bit interested.

“Relax,” Mikoto said from beside him. “Normal humans can’t see us.”

“Coulda warned me,” the land god muttered under his breath, before giving his friends a sheepish grin. “Sorry, thought I felt something on me.”

“All right,” Shixona shrugged. “So, you gonna get your usual?”

“No duh,” he smirked, sticking out his tongue at her teasingly.

“Keep it up and I’ll make you bite your tongue off,” she warned, and the blonde squeaked in surprise before he withdrew his tongue back into his mouth, making the brunette girl laugh.

“Wooooow, she’s got you under wraps, doesn’t she?” Zidane chuckled. Prompto wanted to glare at Zidane, but knew it would be weird if he did, so he waited to say something later.

“You know I only tease, Prom,” his friend giggled. “Besides, I think Jin would enjoy that a little too much.”

“…ch…” was all Jin had to say to that.

“Please don’t mind us,” Mikoto said. “Noctis requested us to stay by your side as protection.”

‘ _Of course he did…_ ’ Prompto thought sourly, before their waitress came over. After they placed their orders, Shixona piped up again.

“Hey Prompto, do you know anything about the peacock from the photo shoot with Amane? I asked people about it, but no one saw it,” she said. Prompto stiffened briefly, but then gave her a confused look.

“I didn’t see a peacock, Shix. You sure you weren’t seeing things again?” he teased, making her pout.

“I swear, I saw one!”

“…yeah, right…” Jin mumbled as he took a sip of his drink.

Mikoto hummed a bit, before she chanced a glance outside. Prompto followed her gaze, curious as to what she was looking at. When he looked over, he noticed that the sky outside of the window was darkening almost ominously.

“Awww, looks like it’s gonna rain,” the blonde grumbled, stopping Shixona before she could mess with Jin for his remark.

“Maybe that’ll keep Reno tame for a few days, huh?” she giggled. “Speaking of which, he told me you were with some guy at the ice cream parlor about a couple weeks ago. Who is he?”

“He’s just a friend I’ve met through photo sessions,” Prompto lied quickly, before frowning. “I didn’t know you still kept in touch with Reno.”

“Well, he was upset ‘cause your friend practically threatened him. Scared the shit out of him, I guess,” she snickered. Prompto remembered how alarmed Reno had looked during that incident, and couldn’t blame the redhead. “But I’m sure Reno had it coming. Based off of what he told me, he was pretty mean to you.”

“Yeah, but he’s got his moments,” the blonde shrugged.

Zidane looked over to Mikoto, who looked back at him quietly.

“You think…?”

“Let us hope not…”

Prompto cast them a curious look, pretending to check his phone.

“Oy, Prom…” Zidane murmured, lightly tapping the blonde’s shoulder. “Maybe we should…I dunno…move?” Prompto shook his head, wordlessly telling him no. That’s when their food arrived, and Prompto inhaled the wonderful aroma of his yakimeshi.

“Smells amazing, as usual,” he grinned, quickly taking a bite.

“You never change, Prompto,” Shixona smiled. Prompto merely shrugged before swallowing as Shixona and Jin began to eat as well. Zidane bit his lip and glanced to Mikoto, but his sister offered nothing in response, as she merely hummed softly.

“…told you the weather report’d be bogus…” Jin mumbled under his breath before he took a bite from his food.

“I know, I know. So much for a walk after this,” Shixona sighed, taking another bite of her katsudon.

“It’s okay, guys. At least we got to meet for lunch,” Prompto assured them, and the brunette girl nodded her agreement.

“We’ll need to meet up like this again soon,” she pointed out, making the blonde hum his agreement as he chewed on another bite.

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

“Huh…odd…” Noctis murmured as he took a small sip of his sake, reclining back along the porch. “I was expecting Light to come barreling down the skies to the shrine…” As he took another sip, he regarded the clear skies above. “But the sky’s perfectly clear…”

Snorting softly, Noctis leaned back and raised his hand to finish his drink—only to freeze as a realization hit him.

“The clouds... were heading into town…”

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

“…Prom, I _seriously_ think we should go…” Zidane whispered. Prompto pretended to glare at something else, but ignored Zidane’s words. Everything was fine!

Jin groaned as he stretched briefly, before he stood. Shixona gave him a questioning glance, and he simply said, “Bathroom.”

“I need to go, too, now that you mention it,” she nodded, and looked at Prompto. “We’ll be right back.”

“No problem, I’ll be here,” the blonde smiled, and once they left, he sighed, looking at Zidane. “What’s with you, Zidane?”

“Look, I just got a bad feeling about this, okay?!” Zidane hissed.

“Zidane has a point…something isn’t right…” Mikoto pointed out. “We should—…!!”

“What’s wrong?” Prompto asked, noticing how she stiffened beside him. Mikoto wasn’t able to answer though. However, when Prompto looked up, it didn’t take him long to spot what had caused her to freeze as she did. “What the?!” he gasped when he saw the source.

Seemingly hovering outside the window, was an extremely fierce-looking woman, though most features appeared muted through the glass window. That is, until there was a loud crack of thunder and the window shattered.

“Who is that?!” the land god yelped. Zidane and Mikoto didn’t answer immediately, as they instead moved in to stand at the blonde’s side, as if they could somehow protect him. However, as they did, Prompto became aware of the darkness that had suddenly surrounded them, swallowing up the entire surrounding area. “Who are you, and what did you do?” he questioned the woman.

The woman regarded Prompto un silence for a moment, and this gave Prompto the time to take her in properly. She was a tall woman with light pink-blonde hair, and electric blue eyes that seemed to be ablaze with emotion, though it was difficult to say what sort of emotion it was. She wore a traditional Japanese kimono that hugged her frame perfectly.

“You shouldn’t worry,” she said suddenly, and her voice sounded a tad hoarse, as if she wasn’t used to speaking. “I merely put up a barrier so that we will not be disturbed.”

“What do you want with me?” the blonde asked cautiously, and considering all the crap he’d encountered so far, he couldn’t really be blamed.

“Allow me to answer your earlier question, first,” the woman said instead, and her tone did not allow him to say anything in response before she said what she needed to say. “I am a god with a shrine in heaven. I am Eclaire, god of lightning.”

Prompto gawked, shocked to see another god in front of him. She held such a powerful stance, it felt like, and his eyes were wide with his shock. The blonde then frowned as his shock wore off, and he repeated his question. “What do you want with me?”

The woman—Eclaire—regarded Prompto for a moment, before she said, “Being made a god without your consent… It must have been so strenuous.” Before Prompto could respond, she was right in front of him, holding his chin between her thin fingers. “You have such a frail body,” she said as she regarded him. “You must wish to return to your human life…to leave those hardships behind…”

Prompto paused, before frowning and pulling away from her touch as her words registered. “I actually don’t,” he told her, furrowing his brows. “Zidane, Mikoto, and Noctis have been taking care of me, and have made me feel like I’m at home. So no, I don’t feel that there are any hardships at all.”

Zidane and Mikoto watched Prompto quietly, worried, as Eclaire shut her eyes and seemed to think on those words for a long time. But then she opened her eyes and they seemed to give off an electric charge all their own as she snarled, “I can’t let you do that.”

“Prompto!!”

The blonde gasped at the familiar voice, and he looked to see Noctis had joined them. As the fox ran over, carrying a lantern in one hand, he called, “Are you all right?”

However, before Prompto could respond, Eclaire’s arms were suddenly around his throat and chest from behind, threatening and holding him in place. “So…you’ve come, Noctis…”

The smaller male stiffened in Eclaire’s hold, a whimper threatening to slip out, but he bit his lip to keep the noise back.

“Noct!!” Zidane cried out as he and Mikoto ran to the fox’s side. “We’re sorry! We…we couldn’t—” Noctis put his fingers to Zidane’s head to stop him from talking, keeping his gaze aimed at the god of lightning. “What is the meaning of this, Lightning?!” he demanded with a small snarl. “Let him go. He’s my master.”

The god holding Prompto back allowed a cold chuckle, before she said as her fingers once more grabbed hold of Prompto’s chin, only more harshly this time, “So a little boy like this is your ‘master’, now? My, how you’ve fallen, Noctis…” She scoffed then, and mumbled, “I get so annoyed when I see you slaving away for someone else. Prompto growled quietly on impulse, not liking how she was insulting _his_ familiar. He was sorely tempted to kick her to try and get away, but had a strong feeling that wouldn’t end well at all.

Thankfully, he wasn’t the only one annoyed, as Noctis snarled and lunged at Eclaire with fox fire around his hand. “It’s none of your business what I do!!” he shouted as he lashed out.

Of course, he missed her as she easily darted out of range, and she chuckled icily. “I thought this would happen, so I borrowed something from the god of wealth!”

The blonde in her grip panicked at her words, knowing something bad was going to happen. “Noctis, be careful!” he warned.

“Wha—?!”

However, before he could move, Eclaire pulled out what looked like a decorative wooden mallet. And then, as she reared back, she shouted, “BECOME SMALLER!!” right before she hit Noctis on the head with it. Noctis yowled in shock at the hit—before it shifted into a squeaky yip as, with a poof of smoke, on the floor that lay a small black-haired fox boy.

“Oh shit, Noct!!” Zidane cried out in alarm, as Mikoto covered her mouth to stop her gasping of his name, though it didn’t work too well.

“Noctis!” Prompto wailed, rushing over to him when he was released from Eclaire’s hold.

“And _you’re_ next!!” Eclaire suddenly shouted as she struck Prompto across his face—before she pushed her palm to his forehead. “Release!”

And the blonde gasped as he felt the mark of the land god leaving him at the contact.

When Eclaire removed her hand, she laughed coldly, and Prompto could see the glowing mark on the palm of her hand. “Now _I’ve_ got Lunafreya’s mark! You’re no longer the land god, boy; you’re just a normal human now!”

“What?!” Prompto yelped. “Why would you do that?!”

The woman merely laughed at the words. “You should be happy,” she got out amidst her laughter. “Now you can live however you want within your humble little life as you—”

Before she could finish the quip though, a leaf suddenly hit her in the cheek. And while it did nothing, she did turn to glare at the fox boy who’d thrown it at her, and angry glare of his own on his face.

Which didn’t last long as Eclaire snapped her arm forward and struck him with a bolt of lightning, making the boy scream as he thrown back.

“Noctis!!” Prompto screamed, running over to him to make sure he wasn’t badly hurt. “Are you okay?”

“Noctis,” Eclaire said before the fox could respond, “if you want to turn back to normal, come to the shrine.” A cold smile played on her face as she added, “If you become my familiar…I’ll turn you back to normal.”

Prompto glared at her, furious. “You’re a sick person! You hurt him, and then try to bribe him?! What the hell’s wrong with you?!”

Eclaire merely snorted, clearly unimpressed with his words, and instead turned to Zidane and Mikoto, both of which were trembling and looking at her in fear. “You two spirits,” she said, and they tensed sharply. “Show me to my new shrine.”

Zidane bit his lip, and he looked like he wanted to say or shout something, but in the end, he said nothing as his tail drooped behind him. Mikoto’s tail did the same as she lowered her head subserviently.

“Yes, master…” they both whispered at the same time.

“Guys!” Prompto protested, tears forming in his eyes. He was going to be alone again, despite having friends, but it wasn’t the same.

“Sorry, dude…” Zidane mumbled, not looking back as he and Mikoto walked away. “But we’re spirits bound to the shrine…”

“We…have no choice…” Mikoto said, clutching her brother’s hand. “…farewell.”

“Well then…” Eclaire said with a cold smirk, “have a nice day.”

And then she, and the twins, were gone, as the barrier was lifted again.

Once they were gone, and the barrier with them, Prompto looked down at the young fox in his arms, biting his lip worriedly. It was then that Shixona and Jin returned, and when they saw the raven, the brunette girl blinked, surprised.

“Who’s this, Prom?” she asked.

“Ah, I…I can’t talk right now, Shix, sorry!” Prompto said quickly, before getting up and hurrying out, ignoring her shouts of protest. He would pay her back for lunch next time, but he wasn’t concerned about that right now. As he took off, still holding Noctis, he thought of a good safe place for now: the park.

As they arrived at the park, finally, Noctis finally started struggling in the blonde’s arms. “I can walk by myself!” he complained—in a voice that’s very different from the one Prompto’s so used to hearing from the fox.

“Sorry, you’re right,” Prompto apologized, setting him down and ignoring the change in voice. “You weren’t hurt by Eclaire earlier, were you?” he asked worriedly as he crouched down to Noctis’s level.

“I’m fine…” Noctis said, pointedly looking away.

“What’s wrong?”

“…why do you care?”

“I care because you’ve been protecting me, and I don’t want to see you hurt, even if you don’t care,” the blonde told him seriously.

“…”

Noctis didn’t say anything to the words, but he still refused to look at Prompto.

“Here, let’s go sit down for a bit,” Prompto suggested, and took Noctis’s hand in his before leading him to a nearby bench. Noctis didn’t object as he was led to the bench, nor when he was lifted up onto it.

Once they were seated, the reality of his situation hit Prompto, and it hit _hard_. Tears burned behind his eyes as he struggled not to cry, his hands beginning to tremble before he clasped them together, trying to hold himself together. “Not again…” he whispered, knowing he was homeless…again.

Noctis didn’t say anything in response to the quiet words, and he merely stared ahead of him blankly, not really seeming to care.

“What am I supposed to do now…?” Prompto wondered aloud quietly.

“…whatever you want,” Noctis said suddenly, making Prompto look over. “This is the human world, after all…you can do whatever you want here…”

“Noctis.... I don’t want to go back to my old life,” the blonde sighed. "I enjoyed being at the shrine with you guys, and I want that back so badly… I just don’t know how to make things right…”

“You can’t…” Noctis said solemnly. “You’re just a human now…you can’t…do anything…” As he continued speaking, though, his words became almost slurred. “And I…I can’t…protect you…anymore…” Then he flopped over.

“Noctis!” Prompto gasped, before lifting the raven up again, and feeling his forehead. “Dammit, he’s got a fever…” he hissed. Noctis couldn’t even respond; the small fox appeared to be on the verge of passing out. Feeling the beginning stirrings of panic in his chest, Prompto scooped Noctis into his arms again and quickly pulled the beanie out of his camera bag, slipping it onto the little yokai’s head before hurrying to a first aid station. However, when he finally found one, it was closed. “Shit…!” he cursed, before he felt the first few drops of rain pattering onto his head and shoulders. A despaired noise escaped him as he slid to his knees on the sidewalk, terrified of losing the small raven. The rain steadily started getting worse and worse…and then it stopped suddenly. Or at least, he didn’t feel it anymore.

“Well, there’s a face I certainly wasn’t expecting out here in this weather,” a familiar voice murmured thoughtfully.

The blonde jumped, startled, before looking up to see Amane, of all people, standing in front of him. “Amane?” he uttered, swallowing thickly. “Wh…what are you doing here?”

The performer tilted his head, lightly spinning his large umbrella between his fingers. “Oh, I just finished a job, dear and I just so happened to catch a peculiar noise…” he said simply. “So what brings you here, hm?”

“It’s Noctis… Eclaire turned him into a kid somehow, took my mark, and now he’s got a fever…” Prompto explained. “He needs help…”

Amane regarded Prompto for a moment, and then looked at the boy he was still holding close, before he sighed heavily. “Sometimes I wonder…come on,” he said, reaching down and tugging Prompto up to his feet. “My place isn’t far from here. Let’s go.”

“Th-thanks,” the smaller male murmured, grateful to the tengu. He hoped Amane could help Noctis.

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

“My gosh, this weather is depressing…” Amane mumbled softly as he put his umbrella away. “You should get the little fox to bed,” he said after a moment, gesturing down the hall.

“But…isn’t there something we can do for his fever?” Prompto frowned.

“Get him to bed first, and we’ll see what we can do then.”

“Okay,” the smaller male nodded, and then headed down the hall to what looked like a guest bedroom. Carefully, he tucked Noctis in under the covers, before gently brushing his bangs aside. “Please, PLEASE be okay…” he whispered.

“…nrgh…”

Prompto perked up when he heard the noise, watching Noctis closely. “…I can’t lose you, Noctis… And I mean that… I know we haven’t seen eye to eye, but I _do_ care, and I don’t just want you to be okay so you’ll protect me… I really do care about you as a person…” he murmured, the tears beginning to form in his eyes.

Noctis didn’t say anything; he just whimpered as he tried to curl up.

“Certainly not what I expected to pick up tonight,” Amane murmured as he walked into the room, his hair unrestrained for once and hanging down his back. “So you said Eclaire did this to him? How did she do that?”

“She used some sort of wooden mallet,” Prompto sighed.

“A mallet…oh dear…” Amane sighed. “That was probably the ‘Lucky Mallet’…that complicates matters…”

“What can we do?”

“Unfortunately, the only thing that can undo this, is the Lucky Mallet,” Amane sighed out. “The reason poor foxy’s running a fever is because only his body’s changed, not his power. Basically there’s too much of it for the body he’s in now.”

“Then how do we get to the Lucky Mallet to change him back?” Prompto questioned, fearful for the fox’s life.

“That, I don’t know…” Amane admitted, before he reached into his pocket. “Here,” he said as he passed Prompto some pills, “those should at least help with taking that fever down a notch. For now, anyway…”

Thankfully, the pills seemed to help, and the fever went away (for a little bit). He wasn’t fully better, but he was at least not burning up anymore, which made his sleep that much more relaxed.

As he slept, Prompto continued to watch over him, wanting to ensure he would be okay. His worrying was eating at him, and he debated on if he should just let the raven be with Eclaire as her familiar. But when he remembered how she had attacked him, the thought quickly made him regret considering it.

Just then Noctis groaned and rolled over onto his side, curling up into himself.

“Noctis…?” Prompto murmured, frowning in concern. The small fox didn’t respond with words, but he did reach out with a small hand, as if he was trying to find something. Smiling softly, the blonde took that hand in his own, hoping to calm him. That seemed to help, as the small fox breathed a sigh of relief and settled down, a small smile playing on his face.

“There we go…” Prompto soothed, secretly enjoying the touch. He hadn’t been able to do anything like this with Noctis before, so he wanted to treasure this, even though the yokai was sick.

Several hours later, as Amane walked by the room, he hummed a little at the sight, before he sighed. “If you’re going to take the bed…get in it,” he murmured to the sleeping pair, with Prompto leaning on the side of the bed, still holding the small fox’s hand.

The following morning, Noctis blinked his eyes open slowly, a little unsure of where he was or what had happened. That is until he caught sight of Prompto lying in bed next to him.

“…mmm…” Prompto then began to stir, before his bright blue eyes slowly opened, and he spotted Noctis. Immediately, his eyes widened, and his expression quickly morphed into one of pure relief. “Noctis! You’re okay!” he exclaimed, swiftly pulling the raven into a hug.

The small fox yipped in surprise at being pulled into a hug so suddenly, before he blinked rapidly to try and get himself a bit more awake. Prompto gave a watery laugh at the yip, unable to keep the happy tears at bay. “I was so worried about you…”

After a long moment of just staring at the human, Noctis murmured, “…why are you…?”

“You were running a fever and slept for a long time, Noctis… I wanted to make sure you’re okay because I care,” Prompto told him softly, pulling back to look him in the eye.

“…”

And of course, Noctis only stared quietly. At the lack of response, Prompto sighed, feeling put-out. “Can I at least make you something to eat…?” he offered quietly.

“…” For a moment, Noctis didn’t seem prepared to answer. But then… “…sasamochi…”

“I can do that,” the blonde smiled fondly. “Wait here, I’ll be right back.” He then left the room, looking for Amane. “Hey, Amane?” he called out. “Do you have the ingredients for sasamochi?”

Amane looked up from where he’d been lounging on his couch, reading some sort of novel it looked like. “Ah, yeah…should be in the kitchen. I could also just order some, you know…”

“Nope. I have the recipe my adoptive mom taught me when I was younger memorized, and besides, it tastes better homemade,” the smaller male smirked, heading to the kitchen. As he made it, he hoped Noctis would like it, considering it was a homemade recipe. Finally, he returned to the bedroom, and handed Noctis a plate of some. “Here ya go.”

The little fox peeked over from under his bangs, before he took one of the treats. It did take a moment for him to take the first bite, though.

“What do you think?”

“…so-so.”

“I’ll take it,” Prompto chuckled, knowing the raven was just being his usual self.

“…Prompto?”

“Hm?”

“…thank you.”

“Anytime, Noctis. I’ll always care about you,” the blonde smiled softly.

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Later, the next day, Prompto was out with Noctis, as Amane had another job, and the blonde desperately wanted to figure out how to get Noctis back to normal, as well as get his mark back.

“So, how should we do this…?” he wondered to himself.

“…why bother?”

“Huh? Noctis, she can’t get away with everything she did,” Prompto replied. “Besides, I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“I’ll manage this problem on my own…” Noctis said solemnly. “You should just worry about yourself…”

“If you honestly expect me to forget about you, and just pretend like I never experienced anything with you guys, you have another thing coming,” the blonde snapped. “And besides, how the hell are you gonna take care of this on your own when you’re this tall?” As he said the last part, he bent down and held his hand over Noctis’s head as a reminder.

However, Noctis swiftly smacked the blonde’s hand away. “I don’t want your pity!” the fox nearly shouted.

“I’m not pitying you, dammit!” Prompto huffed. “I just don’t want anything to happen to you. That’s not wrong.”

Noctis glared up at the blonde before he said, “She made you a human again…so you should just live as a human…” as he turned around, “and I’ll just…”

“I can’t just forget about you guys, Noctis!” the blonde protested.

“I’m sure you can…” Noctis mumbled.

“You don’t get it, do you? What I’ve experienced with you and Zidane and Mikoto…nothing’s going to change that, and I refuse to let it be taken away forever.”

“ _That’s not your world anymore!_ ” Noctis almost screamed. “Why can’t you understand that?! You don’t _belong_ there anymore!”

“I don’t care!! If I have to, I’ll make it so I _do_ belong there, but having that taken from me by force like that hurts too fucking much!!” Prompto snapped.

“Noctis-dono,” two voices suddenly called out. Prompto tensed, looking for the source of the call as he instinctively tugged Noctis close to himself.

Sitting there across from them, were what Prompto assumed to be two spirits (or familiars), both similar-looking. “We’ve been looking for you,” they said, bowing politely. “We are the thirty-second guardian lion-dogs that serve Eclaire-sama, Koume and Kotake. We’ve come to take Noctis-dono with us.”

“No, you’re not. That sick, twisted bitch is just going to hurt him!” Prompto spat, glaring at them. “And besides, how can Noctis become her familiar when she already has you two?”

“Ah, but Noctis-dono is a wild fox, yet he was a capable familiar, wasn’t he?” the two lion-dogs returned, clearly shocked at the blonde’s explosive response. “If he were to come with us, we can quit being guardian lion-dogs without any worry. More importantly, it’s Eclaire-sama’s order—”

“Because of your so-called master, we were kicked out of our home. I’m going to do something to help Noctis on my own,” Prompto growled firmly.

“Wha…but—”

However, before Prompto could say anything else, there was a sudden weight against his back, throwing him forward.

“…I told you…you can’t even do anything…” Noctis said solemnly. Prompto struggled to look at Noctis, confused and hurt.

“B-but, Noctis…!” he argued.

“There’s nothing you can do to save me…” Noctis said simply. “Just thinking of having to rely on you from now on…makes me _so_ irritated…” Realizing the raven planned on actually going to Eclaire, a choked whimper escaped the blonde. He couldn’t even speak, the heartache making the tears form already.

“Oy, you lion-dogs or whatever…”

“Ah…! Yes?”

“Take me to the shrine…”

“Noctis, no…!” Prompto pleaded in a thick voice.

Noctis didn’t react to the words, though he lowered his head slightly. However, before the lion-dogs could take him away, he looked back with a small, almost sad smile. “Goodbye, Prompto…”

And then he was gone.

Once he was, Prompto felt the weight on him leave, before he gave a choked sob and an almost anguished cry escaped him. “FUCKING HELL!!” he screamed, slamming his fist on the ground.

Later, the blonde was sitting in front of Amane’s apartment building, lost and unsure of what to do. He knew for a fact that Noctis couldn’t possibly want to be Eclaire’s familiar, there was no chance.

“Oh?” a familiar voice called out suddenly, making him look up. “This is surprising…to see someone here for you…”

“What?” Prompto frowned, confused.

Amane sighed, shaking his head. “Never mind… So, why are you outside, dear? It’s much warmer inside, you know?”

“I was waiting to give you back your spare key… I cleaned up from the stay as thanks for letting us stay with you…” Prompto sighed, before biting his lip. “…Noctis went back to the shrine…and to Eclaire…”

“…And you’re okay with that?” Amane said solemnly.

“Of course not! But…like Noctis said, there’s nothing I can do…” the blonde mumbled, inhaling deeply to keep his tears away.

Amane regarded him for a moment longer, before he sighed heavily. “Very well then…” he said, reaching back around his neck. And then when he pulled his hand back, he was holding a dark feather between his fingers. “Here.”

“Huh?” the smaller male uttered, taking the feather in his hand.

“Consider it a gift from me…” Amane said with a small smile. “By possessing a part of a yokai’s body…you get to see things that humans can’t normally see.”

And the moment that registered, Prompto became aware of two crying blondes clinging to his much taller frame.

“Zidane?! Mikoto?!” Prompto yelped, before bending down some to keep them closer.

“Yes, they’ve been crying next to you for a while now,” Amane murmured.

“D-dude, w-we got…we got trouble...!” Zidane managed to get out, and Mikoto hiccups as she nods furiously.

“Noc…Noctis is…he’s hiding in the shrine and…and Eclaire…she’s furious…!”

“She…she’s gonna level the shrine if we don’t hurry!”

As the panicked words clicked, Prompto’s expression shifted into a fierce glower. “Not while I’m still standing, she won’t,” he snarled. Pocketing the feather, he looked at Amane seriously. “Thanks, Amane. I owe you one.”

“Yes, you do,” Amane said simply, as Zidane and Mikoto dragged Prompto along.

“C’mon! We got the coach waiting!” Zidane called out, and sure enough, there it was around the corner. And of course, Zidane and Mikoto hopped in easily. Remembering his struggle to even get in last time, Prompto frowned, before he ran to the coach and basically launched himself inside.

“Let’s go.”

 

X*X(Meanwhile…)X*X

“Elcaire-sama!!” the two lion-dogs cried as they came running back, their shouts barely audible over the roaring thunder. “It’s no use! We’ve searched in the attic and under the floor, but he’s nowhere to be seen!!”

Eclaire growled as she bit her lip in an attempt to contain her rage. And she failed…

“DAMN YOU, NOCTIS!!” she roared. “HOW _DARE_ YOU MAKE A FOOL OUT OF ME!!” Raising her hands over her head she screamed, “Now that it’s come to this, I don’t NEED this rundown shrine anymore!!”

“Don’t you fucking dare!!” Prompto’s voice snarled, gaining Eclaire’s attention. “What kind of god destroys her own shrine?!”

“You…why are you here?!” Eclaire demanded.

“Where’s Noctis?!” the blonde demanded instead.

Eclaire snorted icily. “Inside the shrine,” she said with a sneer. “Hiding, and he’s impossible to find. However, I’m certain he’d come out on his own if I tore this shrine down to the ground…”

“If it’s me, I’m sure I can find him,” Prompto smirked, folding his arms over his chest.

At those words, the god of lightning glared at him like he was something waiting to be stepped on. “H-how cheeky!” she snarled. “You’re saying that you, a mere human, can find something _I_ cannot?!”

“No duh,” the blonde snorted. “And if I find him, you have to turn him back to normal.” At this, he held out his hand to shake on the deal.

“Ch…” the woman snarled furiously. “Fine. Not like it’ll happen.”

“Just watch me,” Prompto spat, before heading further into the shrine to search for the fox. After searching through each room, calling Noctis’s name, he made it to the last room, but there was no response at his call. “Where could he be at…? I thought he’d come out if I called to him…”

“C’mon, Prom,” Zidane said as he and Mikoto followed after. “You can’t give up now!”

“He’s here, surely,” Mikoto confirmed with a nod.

“I know he’s around here somewhere…” the taller blonde murmured, before a teal-colored butterfly fluttered across his vision, heading to another room. Curious, he followed it, and then spotted it perched on a small pocket mirror. “This mirror…”

“Oh that…?” Zidane murmured thoughtfully.

“That’s Lady Lunafreya’s pocket mirror…” Mikoto said. Prompto picked up the pocket mirror, and was surprised at the amount of heat coming from it.

‘ _This heat…_ ’ he thought worriedly. ‘ _I found him…_ ’ He then found himself inside the mirror with Noctis, and he looked at the little fox in concern.

“Noctis, have you been hiding here?” he frowned. “Seriously, you should have just told me if you had nowhere to go.” Reaching out and gently patting the feverish yokai on his head, he added, “You just have to tell me, and I’ll stay with you forever. Okay?”

Noctis looked up at the blonde with startled blue eyes, before he reached up for the hand extended out to him. Prompto then pulled Noctis into a gentle hug, relieved that he’d managed to find the raven.

“Hiding in the old land god’s mirror…” Eclaire muttered softly. “To think he would hide himself there…”

“What do we do now, Eclaire-sama?”

The god of lightning regarded the shrine for a moment, before she sighed heavily. “…I don’t need a familiar who isn’t loyal to me.”

Once Prompto had brought Noctis back out of the mirror, the blonde was almost pleasantly surprised to see the lion-dogs waiting for them. Almost.

“Hello!” The pair immediately got to the point of why they were there. “We’ve brought you the Lucky Mallet and the land god’s mark from Eclaire-sama.” Prompto scowled at the lack of Eclaire’s presence.

“Where the hell is Eclaire herself?!” he demanded. “She took them, so she should have given them back herself!”

“Ah, Eclaire-sama doesn’t have the time to return them. Anyway, we’ll return the mark to you,” one of the lion-dogs said, before he walked over and, without a moment of hesitation, kissed him on the forehead. “Now,” he said as he stepped back. “Now the land god’s mark belongs to you, Prompto-sama.”

‘ _Damn straight,_ ’ Prompto thought, before looking at Noctis. “Now for Noctis, right?”

“That’s right,” the other lion-dog said as he held out the mallet to Prompto. “Turn toward Noctis-dono and say ‘become bigger’. That is your job, Prompto-sama.” Smiling in satisfaction, the blonde took the mallet from the lion-dog.

“Become bigger,” he said firmly, shaking it once over Noctis’s head.

And barely a moment after, there was a poof of smoke and when it faded, Noctis was back to his ‘normal’ size again. With one small exception…

“Dude! What’s with the facial hair?!” Zidane laughed out, and Noctis offered the spirit a small glare before he snapped his hand out at the blonde, but the cheeky blonde easily hopped out of the way. Prompto couldn’t help but blush faintly at the sight of Noctis with facial hair, as it actually suited him pretty well.

At the lack of actual response (and after smushing Zidane to the ground for some of his earlier comments) Noctis looked up to Prompto silently. “…What is it?”

“N-nothing!” Prompto stammered, before looking to the window. “Hey, the rain finally stopped!” he grinned as he ran to look outside better, and hide his blush from the fox.

“…oy, Prompto,” Noctis said as he stood up and walked over. “I owe you one.”

“Yup. Be grateful,” the blonde teased.

“I am…” Noctis said solemnly as he grabbed Prompto by his shoulder and made him turn around…right before he leaned in and covered the blonde’s mouth with his own. The smaller male’s eyes widened in shock, but before he could even consider responding, the raven pulled away. “That was to reseal the familiar contract,” Noctis said firmly once he had opened his eyes again. Prompto nodded his understanding, still taken by surprise.

“That’s the symbol of our promise to be together forever.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is gonna be good! Enjoy~

It had been a few days since Prompto’s return to the shrine, and ever since Noctis had resealed the familiar contract with the blonde, every time Prompto even so much as looked at the raven, his heart would race. That morning, as he ate his breakfast, Noctis sitting nearby, the smaller male was almost hurt by the fact that the fox was acting like his old self…like there was nothing different between them.

His phone went off when he was done, and he groaned when he saw the caller ID.

“Man, I hope she doesn’t expect me to explain last time…” he muttered, before answering. “Heya Shix!” he greeted with forced energy.

“Prompto, are you okay? Don’t lie to me, either, dammit! I was really worried when I didn’t hear from you after you took off the other day during lunch!” his friend rambled into the phone.

“I’m fine now, Shixona, I promise! I can’t really explain about before, but I would if I could in a heartbeat,” the blonde sighed. “Anyway, I owe you for lunch that day. I’ll treat you to your favorite at the bakery, if you want?”

“…Fiiiine. You drive a hard bargain, mister,” she relented. “But try not to worry me like that again, okay?”

“No promises, Shix,” Prompto chuckled. “But I’ll try.”

“Guess that’s all I can ask for,” she giggled. “All right, I’ll see you this afternoon at three, okay?”

“Sounds good,” he nodded, before hanging up.

“…couldn’t resist, huh?” Noctis mumbled softly.

“Hey, she paid for my lunch last time, since I had to run out because of Eclaire’s bitch move. I have to make it up to her, and sweets are her weakness,” Prompto shrugged. He still didn’t understand why Noctis hadn’t shaved, but he wasn’t going to dare to say anything.

“…take a picture,” Noctis said suddenly. “Lasts longer.”

“Huh?”

“You’re staring.”

“Oh, uh…sorry…” Prompto muttered, looking away.

“…heh.”

“Now what?”

“Nothing.” Noctis stood up solemnly and then proceeded to walk off again, possibly to get back to work. Once he was gone, Prompto sighed.

‘ _Why can’t he just feel the same…?_ ’ he thought, becoming a bit frustrated.

Later on, Prompto was walking to the bakery to meet with Shixona, making sure he had his wallet on him. He had a feeling his friend wasn’t going to hold back to make him pay for lunch and for worrying her.

“Hey Shix!” he called when he got there, seeing her in front of the shop.

“Heya Prom!” she grinned. “How’ve you been?”

“Doing better,” the blonde smiled. “So, I take it we’ll need to get a bunch of to-go boxes for a bunch of sweets?”

“Oh, hush. Some of it’s gonna be for Jin, too,” she huffed. “Now for you to pay me back.”

“I know,” Prompto laughed as they went in. As Shixona browsed for what she wanted, Prompto sat at one of the tables, merely watching her. That is, until he heard shouts in the corner.

“Ew, a snake!” someone squealed.

“Get it, get it!” another person yelled, and there was some whacking sounds, quickly drawing Prompto’s attention. He looked to see a few teenagers gathered around a white snake, and one of the teens was trying to smack it with a broom.

“Hey, quit it!” he snapped at them. “It’s not doing anything to you guys, is it? Leave it alone.” As he spoke, he got up and gently picked up the snake, allowing it to coil around his wrist briefly before letting it go outside.

“You okay, Prom?” Shixona asked, looking at his wrist.

“Yeah, it didn’t bite me or anything,” he smiled.

“But your wrist is all red,” she murmured, frowning. And indeed, his wrist was red.

“Weird…” the blonde mumbled, wondering why that was. “Here, let’s get you your treats, and I’ll help you take them home.”

“Sounds good!” she grinned.

Eventually, Prompto returned to the shrine, calling out a greeting as he walked inside, shaking his head to rid itself of the rain water from the drizzle outside.

“Back already?” Noctis asked disinterestedly as he swept some dust out of the shrine.

“Yeah, I helped her take the stuff home. My wallet’s probably crying by now,” the blonde joked, starting to head to his room to change into lounge clothes.

Noctis watched him go, expression unchanging…until he saw Prompto’s wrist. “…! Wait,” he called, grabbing Prompto’s arm and lifting the limb to his face. “Where did you get this?!”

“There was a snake at the bakery, and I let it outside since some stupid teenagers were trying to hurt it. This appeared after I let it outside, but it didn’t bite me,” Prompto frowned, confused. “Why?”

“…shit,” Noctis hissed suddenly.

“What?”

“This is a snake’s engagement mark.”

“Wait, what?!”

“To put it simply, that mark is proof of your engagement to that snake.” Noctis actually sighed and put his fingers to his forehead. “Figures…the one time I don’t pay attention you go and do something stupid…”

“How was I supposed to know?!” the blonde demanded, before calming down somewhat. “Now what?”

“Well _now_ that snake is going to come for you to take you away,” Noctis pointed out.

“Is there any way to get rid of the mark?” Prompto asked, not wanting to be taken.

“Aside from the snake removing it personally? No.”

“Then what should we do?”

“Don’t worry,” Noctis said firmly. “I won’t let him touch one hair on your head.”

“Thank you,” the smaller male murmured sincerely.

“Don’t bother,” Noctis snorted. “This wouldn’t have even happened if you’d been careful…”

“Again, I couldn’t have known, Noctis,” the blonde grumbled. “I just thought I was preventing a snake from being killed by a broom…”

“Now you know not to be so overly friendly, then.”

“Nothing wrong with being kind,” Prompto countered. “Besides, it’s in my nature.”

“And that’s going to get you _killed_ someday…”

“Kinda hard to change how I am, Noctis,” the smaller male argued stubbornly, before turning away to head to his room with a sigh. “I’m gonna go lay down for a bit…”

“Ch…whatever…”

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

It had been a week since the snake had left his mark on Prompto, and Noctis had flat-out refused to let him leave the shrine to keep him safe. However, when he got a call from Amane asking for him to pay him back for the feather during the Eclaire incident, the land god couldn’t refuse. After all, it was another photo shoot, but even though it paid less due to his favor, Prompto didn’t mind, seeing as Amane had really helped him out with Noctis back then. Now to somehow convince the fox to let him go…

“Hey, Noctis?” the blonde called out into the yard as the yokai was weeding.

“Hm?” Noctis hummed as he tugged loose a particularly stubborn weed.

“Amane called me, and he wants me to do a photo shoot for smaller pay as repayment for helping me during that whole Eclaire business, and I had to say yes…” His voice became quieter towards the end, having a bad feeling Noctis was going to yell at him.

“…” Shockingly, the fox said nothing. Instead, he focused and a small patch of weeds. “…when?”

“It’s tomorrow, around noon,” Prompto replied, almost confused. He had honestly expected Noctis would be mad at him for accepting.

“…I see.”

“You’re not mad that I’m going?” the smaller male finally asked, sounding very confused now.

“‘We’,” Noctis said firmly, in a way that was obviously meant to be correcting.

“Wait, you’re gonna come with me?” Prompto realized, blinking in surprise.

Noctis paused what he was doing and looked back. “Of course,” he said. “Someone’s gotta make sure you don’t do anything stupid…and I still don’t trust that tengu.”

“Remember, Amane helped us both that time, and if he hadn’t given me one of his feathers, I wouldn’t have been able to see Zidane and Mikoto, either,” the blonde pointed out, before he smiled warmly at Noctis. “But that’s fine. I could use the company since Shixona won’t be there, by the sound of things.”

“…hmph.”

“Don’t be so grumpy,” Prompto laughed, before returning into the shrine.

The next day found Prompto walking with Noctis to the photo shoot set after they had gotten off the bus. The blonde was eager to show Noctis he was good with his camera, seeing as the raven would be watching him this time. Finally, they arrived at the set, where Amane greeted them.

“Right on time, dear,” Amane said with a smile, before he hummed as he spotted Noctis. “My, my, looking a bit rough there, are we, Mr. Fox?”

“Sod off, Tori,” Noctis snarled.

“He came with to make sure I’ll be okay,” Prompto said, internally sighing at the fox’s aggression. “So, where do I start this time?”

Amane hummed curiously, though he didn’t ask any further. “Well, the boys are still setting up, so let’s move on over first, shall we?”

“Sounds good,” the blonde nodded, and looked at Noctis expectantly as he followed Amane to the right area.

As Prompto moved over to get started on the shoot as the show started, Noctis remained in the back, sitting on a bench with his arms crossed over his chest. Whereas everyone there was paying extra close attention to Amane and his troupe as they put up their show, Noctis kept his eyes trained on the blonde photographer silently. He kept moving left and right every so often, with the camera nearly glued to his face, completely engrossed in what he was doing.

What surprised Noctis about the blonde, though, was the expression on his face. He couldn’t remember a time back at the shrine when Prompto had ever looked this…happy. Or, well, maybe “content” was a better term for it. But either way, it was an expression Noctis wasn’t used to seeing. And, for some reason, that made him feel…actually he wasn’t sure HOW it made him feel, but he didn't like it.

He sighed as he reached up and rubbed at the back of his neck, before he scratched his chin—hissing as he felt the stubble of his beard. He should probably do something about that…but he REALLY didn’t feel like it. Too much effort…

Shaking the matter off, Noctis turned his attention back to more important issues. As he did, Amane finished with his performance, and Prompto snapped one last shot of the performer as he posed, before lowering his camera.

“Alright, boys; let’s take a small break,” Amane called out. “I want to discuss some things with you all before the next part too, though, so don’t go too far!”

“I’ll be right back. Need a drink of water,” Prompto told Noctis, before noticing he was asleep. Chuckling, he headed off to get some water. As he made his way through the hallways of the building, he noticed it had started to drizzle outside. “Damn, more rain…” he muttered. “Maybe it’ll wake me up a bit, though…” With that said, he stepped outside to take a breather.

As the droplets hit his face, the cool air filtered through his nose and that certainly woke him up…enough to notice that he wasn’t alone anymore.

“Hm?” he hummed, looking to see someone standing nearby.

Standing a little off to the side was what Prompto assumed to be a tall man with pure white hair, and pale skin, but the upper part of his face was hidden under the edge of the large umbrella he carried with him. What _could_ be seen, though, was the small smile that played on his face.

“Hello, dear,” he said suddenly, before he raised the umbrella just enough to reveal a pair of dark amethyst eyes. “Nice weather we’re having, hm?”

The way he spoke reminded Prompto of Amane, but there was something off about this guy that put the blonde on edge. He took a step back, preparing to head back inside. However, just as he took another step, a mysterious scent filled his nostrils, making his head spin.

“Ah…!” Prompto gasped, before collapsing, his consciousness fading. ‘ _Noctis…help…_ ’

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Suddenly, Noctis’s eyes snapped open in alarm as if he’d just been jolted awake. Upon looking around, he realized that everyone was busy changing the set around…and that Prompto was nowhere to be seen.

“…Prompto?” he called out, getting out of his seat and starting to walk around, looking for the blonde.

However, he stopped dead in his tracks as he spotted a familiar item on the ground just outside. He almost didn’t want to believe he was seeing it, but when he walked closer, he realized it was; Prompto’s camera.

“…”

As he held the camera in his hand, his free hand curled into a fist, to the point where the knuckles cracked. He tried to keep his emotions in check, as he usually did…

…and failed.

“WILL-O-WISP!!” he roared out, several bursts of fox fire bursting to life. “FIND PROMPTO!!” he commanded as they shot off. “And if you find that bastard white snake… _chop him up into sashimi!!_ ”

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

“Not yet?”

“Not yet.”

Prompto heard the unfamiliar voices speaking above him, and he groaned quietly before starting to open his eyes. And was greeted by the sight of two creatures.

“He’s finally awake, huh?” the first one said.

“Hey, human,” the second said. “Want a centipede?” Prompto yelped, sitting up and staring at them with wide eyes.

As he backpedaled, though, he hit something right behind him. And when he looked up, he was looking right into a pair of bemused purple eyes. “Good morning, dear~”

“Wha?!” the smaller male gasped, realizing this must be the snake that gave him the mark and kidnapped him.

“I don’t think I’ve properly thanked you yet, so…thank you for saving me at the bakery the other day,” the man said with a slight tilt of his head.

“…Just who _are_ you, anyway?” Prompto finally asked, watching the man warily.

“Ah right, goodness, forgive me, where are my manners?” the man said, before he gave an almost sultry smile. “My name is Kuja. I am the familiar of Yonomori Shrine.”

“The familiar?” Prompto repeated, surprise evident in his voice as he finally stood.

At those words Kuja giggled—actually _giggled!_ —obviously amused by the reaction. “That I am, dear~ And now that we’ve dealt with the silly introductions, let us live many years of happiness together, hm?”

“The number one familiar in Japan, Kuja-dono, has found a husband!” one of the creatures cheered.

“Congratulations!” the other crowed.

“Let us carry out the wedding celebration right away!”

“Oh hell no!” Prompto spat, glaring at them. “Not a chance!”

“Now, now, don’t be so mean, dear,” Kuja chided as he moved over and patted the pair on their heads. “These little ones are just excited to have you here, after all.” Prompto didn’t reply, instead choosing to scowl at Kuja this time.

“Oh, and of course,” Kuja said gesturing his finely manicured hand to behind Prompto. “The one enshrined back there…is Yonomori-sama. She is the resident god here.”

‘ _A god?_ ’ Prompto thought in confusion, looking back behind him. Behind him, there rested what he recognized as a pedestal for the god of the shrine to reside in. It was definitely beautiful to look at and seemed very well taken care of.

“Yonomori-sama is also very happy about my marriage,” Kuja said then as he walked over and held out a hand to Prompto. “Come on, dear~”

“Fucking hell, no!” Prompto snapped, smacking his hand away.

“Oh?”

“Like hell I would marry you! I hate the fact that you forced me to come here, too! Let me go home!” the blonde spat.

Kuja hummed curiously, before he pointed at his own wrist. “Ah, but the mark on your wrist is your engagement ring with me, darling.”

“I said I’m leaving, so I’m leaving right now!!” Prompto snarled.

At those words, a small, cocky smirk passed over Kuja’s face, his eyes sparking in some sort of evil glee. “Well, go ahead then, dear,” he said casually with a wave of his hand. “Go ahead and go home…if you can, that is~” The shrine spirits snickered and giggled as Prompto stormed out of the shrine, swearing under his breath.

‘ _What the hell’s with those idiots?_ ’ he thought furiously. ‘ _I’m going home, no matter what they say!_ ’ As he continued away from the shrine, however, he found that the path was straight, never curving or changing, and with no sign of anyone else around. Not even a single car. Suddenly, the blonde tripped with a yelp, landing on his face and scraping his forehead. “Shit…!” he swore, before remembering Kuja and the shrine spirits laughing at him, and he growled. “I’m still going home!” he shouted at the sky, despite the blood flowing freely down his face. Moving on, he soon spotted a light up ahead. ‘ _A light, which means a house with someone in it!_ ’ he thought eagerly, but as he got close, he was horrified to see Kuja and the shrine spirits again.

“Ah~ Welcome back, dear,” Kuja chirped with a smile. “Had a nice run?”

Prompto fell to his knees in shock, not understanding how he’d ended up back at Yonomori shrine after running that much.

“Silly,” Kuja cooed as he crouched down to his level. “You’re going to be able to get out…though if you’re still not convinced, do you want to try one more time?” Prompto didn’t even say anything, still not understanding. When Prompto didn’t respond, Kuja giggled as he straightened up, his kimono falling loosely around him and showing off FAR too much skin than should be allowed. “It’s no use if you want to wait for someone to pass by, dear; no one’s going to come by, anyway.”

‘ _I don’t like this guy. At all,_ ’ Prompto thought irritably as he glared at Kuja. He then felt the blood still flowing from his scraped forehead.

“…hm?” Suddenly, Kuja frowned and crouched down again, reaching for the blonde’s forehead. “Did you fall…? You’re bleeding,” he pointed out, tenderly wiping away the trail of blood running down Prompto’s forehead after moving some of his bangs away. “Goodness…” he murmured as he pulled out a handkerchief and began to dab at the wound before applying a slight pressure to it.

And suddenly, Prompto remembered Noctis’s promise to him.

‘I promise, I won’t let him touch a hair on your head.’

‘ _Liar…_ ’ the blonde thought miserably, sitting and pulling his knees to his chest, lowering his head. ‘ _I want to go home…_ ’

“Hey, now, don’t cry, dear,” Kuja said soothingly as he reached out and gently ruffled his hair. “It’s not so bad to live here,” he offered with a small smile. “Yonomori-sama’s approved of you staying here, so please, don’t worry.”

Prompto didn’t reply, the tears starting to flow despite Kuja’s words.

“Come; let’s go inside,” Kuja said, standing up and offering his hand to the blonde. Instead of doing so, the smaller male curled further in on himself, not wanting to move. Sighing, Kuja reached down and curled his hand around Prompto’s arm, lifting him up to his feet with almost no trouble.

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Later on, Prompto was sitting outside at the shrine, staring at the plum blossom tree. “This place isn’t real, is it?” he mumbled to Kuja.

“Hm? Where did you get that idea from, dear?” Kuja asked kindly.

“It’s not plum season right now, but the flowers are blooming…” Prompto replied quietly.

Kuja giggled again as he regarded the tree. “Well, I won’t lie, dear…that tree is always like that.” He smiled warmly. “Their time was frozen when they’re at their most beautiful, since Yonomori-sama loves the plum blossoms.” Prompto didn’t respond, instead lowering his gaze to the ground as he thought about Noctis again. He really wished the fox would find him soon…

“…How about we go to bed soon, dear?”

“Wha?! I’m not getting married to you!” the blonde yelped, glaring at Kuja again.

“Don’t be so skittish, dear,” the white-haired male giggled out. “I won’t do anything; you just have to stay here…until you give in.”

Prompto headed to what would be his room while he was stuck here, but when he opened the door, he growled as he saw the shrine spirits by the bed. Kicking them out, literally, he flopped onto the bed, a whimper escaping him.

‘ _Noctis…I’m here… If you’re my familiar…hurry up and come save me…_ ’ he thought as the tears started up again.

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

“Ah crap crap crap crap!" Zidane is cursing over and over again. “How did this even happen?!”

“Being forced to marry a snake…poor Lord Prompto…” Mikoto whimpered. “If he doesn’t return soon…”

Zidane groaned heavily, before he noticed something. “Oy, Miko,” he said, gently nudging his sister. “Look at Noct.”

When she looked over, she spotted the fox, who was silently polishing some of the ceramic bottles on the porch, exactly where he had been ever since coming back.

“Dude’s been sitting there the whole time…look at how unperturbed he looks…” Zidane murmured. “I betcha he’s got a plan ready to get ‘m back.”

“I…I suppose you’re right…” Mikoto murmured…

…just before the bottle Noctis had been polishing slipped from his hands. “…ah.”

“Yep we’re doomed…” Zidane groaned out.

“Poor Lord Prompto…”

“SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU!!” Noctis shouted in annoyance as the two spirits scurried inside. “Dammit…” he snarled, rubbing at his forehead. ‘Why am I this worked up over it? …Well, then again, with his brains and powers…there’s no way he can get himself out of this. Idiot’s probably crying right now, too…’

Sighing heavily, Noctis dropped his head in his hands. “ _Fuck_ …how did things turn out like this?”

Snarling, he mumbled softly, “I’m getting him back…whatever it takes…”

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

When Prompto got up, he stepped outside, spotting Kuja sitting on the porch by himself. He frowned curiously, but said nothing before returning inside.

‘ _There’s something off about this shrine…_ ’ he thought to himself. ‘ _It’s a nice shrine, with the god enshrined, and both the familiar and the spirits, but something’s missing…_ ’

As he was presented with his…‘breakfast’, however…

“What the—?!” he yelped, seeing the live frog in a bowl in front of him.

“This is your breakfast,” one of the spirits grinned.

“Come on, eat up, human god,” the other urged.

“Like I can eat this!!” Prompto yelped, smacking the bowl away from him and startling the spirits.

And, naturally, this greatly amused Kuja. “Hihihi. My, it’s certainly different taking care of someone else,” he said cheerily as he tucked some stubborn locks behind his ear. “Yonomori-sama only drinks sake.”

“So the sake that Kuja-dono makes is the best in the world!” one of the spirits crowed while Prompto planted his foot on the other’s back. “Yonomori-sama called Kuja-dono the number one familiar in Japan.”

“Noctis is great, too,” Prompto snapped. “His cooking is perfect, and the shrine spirits have good manners, unlike you two.” The two spirits gawked at him at the words.

And Kuja giggled once again. “Ah…so Noct is good at cooking now, is he?”

“You know Noctis?” the blonde frowned.

“Yes, I do,” Kuja admitted with a mysterious smile. “I’m fairly certain I’ve known him for longer than you have.”

“It’s the fox with the shabby background!” the spirits cackled.

“Shut the hell up, both of you!” the land god spat.

And Kuja only laughs again. “My goodness, he does have it tough, though…” he murmured. “Losing his master twice now…gosh, he must be sitting out on the porch all depressed by now…”

Prompto simply huffed. “You were the one sitting on the porch all depressed.” Remembering his earlier thought about something being wrong with the shrine, the blonde ignored Kuja’s look as he next spoke. “Kuja… You said no one would come to this shrine. When did they stop coming?”

“Hm?” Kuja hummed in question, before he rubs at his neck absently. “I wonder when…I don’t even—” That’s when Prompto started to go over to Yonomori’s pedestal.

“Ah!? H-hey wait…!” Kuja called out, and this time there was a hint of panic lining his voice. “Don’t touch Yonomori-sama!!”

However, the smaller male ignored the warning, before lifting the cover on the pedestal, revealing a chair with a cushion and a decorative mirror upon it.

“Would you mind telling me about this?” he questioned Kuja, his tone low and deadly. ‘ _I knew it. This shrine has no god._ ’

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Meanwhile, the night fog coach made its way, led by Noctis’s foxfire. Noctis as sitting by the back, looking out as he recalled how his foxfire had told him “We’ve found him” hours ago, urging him and the two shrine spirits to rush off immediately.

And as the night fog coach slowed down, the foxfire murmured “The village that you're looking for is at the bottom of this.”

“A dam, huh?” Noctis murmured as he looked down upon the vast lake laid out before them.

“It’s probably that there’s no humans or gods in this area anymore.”

“…How ironic…” Noctis snorted. “A water god’s shrine…submerged entirely.”

“Oy, Noct,” Zidane asked. “Is Prom really down there?”

“…yeah, definitely…” the fox snarled. “There’s really only ONE snake…old-fashioned enough to TRY and marry a god…”

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

“…A long time ago, there was a big river near here…” Kuja murmured quietly. “Children often got washed away, and the people of the nearby village feared it was a curse…so, they built this shrine in the hopes it would protect them.” The snake-familiar spent a few moments thinking, before he sighed softly. “For a god born to meet the needs of people like Yonomori-sama…she cannot survive without anyone to pray to her. So, when people left the land behind…Yonomori-sama disappeared.”

Prompto listened intently, feeling saddened by Kuja’s story.

“But…I still believe in her existence…even when she’s not here…” Kuja admitted quietly. “I intend to protect her and this shrine… That’s my duty as familiar.”

‘ _He’s been alone here all this time…serving a master that won’t come back…_ ’ the blonde thought sadly. Scooting a bit closer and placing a hand on the snake-familiar’s shoulder, he asked, “You’ve been lonely, haven’t you, Kuja?”

A bit startled, Kuja looked over with a surprised glint in his eyes.

“I’m acting as a god, kinda, and I have Noctis as my familiar,” Prompto said, pulling his hand away. “If Noctis was lonely like you, I wouldn’t be able to stand it.” Smiling softly as he looked at Kuja, he continued, “I’d want him to live freely instead of being tied down to the shrine. I think Yonomori might want that, too.” Kuja regarded Prompto in silence, but the look on his face was one of awe. The blonde went quiet, before saying softly, “I’m sure she’d want for you to be happy and free.”

“…Are you…” Kuja murmured slowly, “are you trying to cheer me up…?”

“Well…yeah,” Prompto nodded.

“Even after…you still…” Kuja breathed out, sounding almost in awe. A small, almost fragile smile played on the familiar’s face as he reached forward suddenly and abruptly hugged the blonde. “You’re such a dear…’

“H…hey! Doesn’t mean you can hug me! You said you weren’t gonna do anything!” Prompto yelped, trying to push Kuja off of him.

Kuja hummed, as if in thought, not allowing himself to be pushed so easily. And then, as he spoke, Prompto could _feel_ the smirk on his face. “I changed my mind.”

“Get off!” the smaller male yelled, panicking as he was pushed down onto the floor.

“Stay with me here…” Kuja breathed out, _way_ too close while keeping Prompto’s hand pined almost easily. “Forever…”

‘ _Noctis…!_ ’ Prompto thought, terrified, clenching his eyes shut with fear as tears began to form. ‘ _Please, hurry and help me!_ ’

Suddenly, Kuja’s hands on his wrists tensed and the snake snapped his head up, a look of genuine surprise on his face. The blonde opened his eyes and looked up to where Kuja was looking, and saw a familiar silhouette in the door.

As they watched, the silhouette raised a hand high above their head…before abruptly slicing the sliding door to bits.

“You _bastard_ …” Noctis snarled out furiously, even though there was a sadistic grin on his face. “You better be prepared for the consequences of laying your filthy hands on my master!”

“Noctis!” Prompto finally smiled for the first time since being brought to this shrine, immensely relieved by the fox’s presence.

“ _GET AWAY FROM HIM!!_ ” the fox screamed suddenly, launching a burst of fox fire and almost scorching Kuja (and Prompto) if the snake hadn’t leapt away with a startled yowl. Prompto yipped, shocked, as he managed to avoid the flames, but then looked at the raven with wide blue eyes.

Not that he has a lot of time to do so, since Noctis is suddenly moving and, in the next moment, has Prompto pulled against him into a powerful embrace. The land god found himself relaxing immediately in Noctis’s hold, even managing to wrap his arms around the taller male in return.

As he did, a small, hoarse voice whispered into his ear. “Thank god you’re alright…”

Prompto listened to him, giving a small, watery smile as he lightly tightened his grip on the fox, knowing he had truly been incredibly worried about him.

“You’re late…” he whispered teasingly.

“Goodness gracious…” Kuja suddenly sighed out, drawing Prompto’s attention to the snake familiar again. “I didn’t think you’d actually find this place…” As he said that, he waved his hand in a wide arch, which caused several streams of water to douse the flames of Noctis’s foxfire. “Still as bad-mannered as ever, I see…”

Prompto frowned, not liking how Kuja spoke to Noctis so…familiarly. Sure, they already knew each other from before this, but the snake had no right to insult the fox.

“You know, you should _really_ be punished for even attempting to burn the shrine of a water god,” Kuja said, his voice cold, before a cold smirk played on his face. “But I suppose a wild fox couldn’t _possibly_ know all the rules involved with being a familiar…”

This caused the blonde to almost growl, becoming highly irritated by Kuja’s insults.

“So…do you truly intend to fight me?” Kuja murmured softly when Noctis refused to even look up. “A wild fox like yourself taking on a holy familiar…” At this point, he giggled darkly. “Under normal circumstances, you wouldn’t even be permitted to _speak_ to me.”

‘ _The world of familiars has social classes, too?_ ’ Prompto thought, confused.

“…the shrine of a god?” Noctis suddenly murmured, and his voice was dangerously cold, making Kuja’s smile falter for a moment. “This place?”

Prompto lightly tightened his hold on Noctis, looking up at the raven.

“Both your god and your shrine rotted away long ago…” Noctis said as he lifted his head—his eyes glowing a piercing violet. “This place…it’s just a little artificial pocket for you to play your make-believe familiar game…hence why it took me so long to find it…”

And then, Noctis’s face twisted into a grin as his eyes burned a piercing reddish-violet as foxfire danced around his arm. “Now come on, _ex_ -holy familiar; it’s time you get your punishment for laying a hand on my master!!”

“Kuja-dono!” The shrine spirits wailed as they ran inside. “The garden is on fire!”

“The gar…!!”

This time, Kuja’s expression showed nothing short of true horror, and, without thinking twice, he turned and ran as fast as he could for the garden through the burning hallways.

‘Hey Kuja, I won’t die…’ Yonomori’s voice echoed through his head. ‘I’m just going back to nature, but…I worry about you. So I promise you…’

As Kuja burst into the garden, he choked at the heavy air that filled his lungs, but he kept running, until he reached his destination.

‘Even if I disappear, don’t cry on your own.’

He gasped for breath for a moment, before he straightened up and looked up, allowing a small smile. “Thank goodness…it’s still alright…” he breathed out.

“Ah, I see,” Noctis said as he appeared behind him, with Prompto still beside him, “ _that’s_ the only thing you’re relying on. The shrine and everything else…were only decorations around the tree, huh?”

‘ _That’s right… He really loves that plum blossom tree…_ ’ Prompto thought sadly.

“…y-yes…” Kuja murmured softly. “This…is all that’s left…” As he finished those words, he turned to Noctis slowly. “Yonomori-sama’s tree is my precious treasure… You understand that, right, Nocty? Because you’re a familiar, too.”

“…Yeah, I get that,” Noctis murmured. “So well it hurts…”

The smaller male looked at the fox curiously, not wanting him to destroy it.

“So…” Noctis murmured, before his earlier sadistic rage returned visibly as fire once more flared up around his arm. “ _I’M GOING TO TURN IT INTO CINDERS AND MAKE YOU **PAY** FOR WHAT YOU DID!!_ ”

“ _NO!!_ ” Kuja screamed as he moved in between Noctis and the tree. “PLEASE NO!!”

“Noctis, stop!” Prompto pleaded, gaining the raven’s attention. “That’s enough. The shrine is destroyed, so there’s no need to destroy the tree, too…”

Upon those words, Noctis stopped, and his expression calmed, as he looked at the blonde, before he quietly lowered his arm, the foxfire fading away. Kuja was breathing heavily as he watched and waited, before he gave a small whimper, and then slid down along the tree, curling up beneath it.

“Better?” the blonde asked his familiar, smiling softly. Without waiting for an answer, he hugged Noctis like before, murmuring, “I’m glad you found me… I just want to go home now…”

“…Right…”

“Kuja…goodbye. Since Noctis is here, I’m going home now," Prompto told the snake familiar quietly. Kuja quietly lifted his head to look up at Prompto, but he refused to say a word. “I’m sorry I can’t stay, but I promise, when you feel lonely, I’ll come visit,” the blonde murmured, before pointing at one of the blossoms, making it bloom. Kuja stared in shock as he did that, but he offered no words in response. The smaller male smiled slightly, before pulling away from Noctis and holding out his hand, his pinky extended to make a pinky promise with the snake familiar. This made Kuja almost flinch back, but, in the end, he did raise one shaky hand and linked his own pinky with Prompto’s.

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

As Prompto walked home with Noctis, he chuckled at the sulking look on Noctis’s face. Noctis doesn’t even bother to look at him, even at the chuckle, indicating just how annoyed he really was.

“Why are you in such a bad mood?" the blonde frowned, tilting his head curiously.

“I’m not,” Noctis said crossly. “But you seem to be on good terms with that snake suddenly,” he fairly snarled out. “Even promising to come back here…”

“Noctis… I’m sorry…” the smaller male apologized. “I just can’t leave Kuja alone… I mean, what if you were left alone?” At his own words, he bit his lip, lowering his gaze under the angry fox’s own gaze.

“What? Afraid I’d end up like _THAT_? Ch…don’t be stupid…”

Prompto merely sighed, brushing his bangs out of his eyes so he could see better.

“…Were you hurt?” Noctis suddenly asked, his eyes drawn to Prompto’s forehead. Or more specifically, the small wound he still had there.

“I only fell earlier, but I’m fine,” Prompto murmured. As soon as the words left his mouth, careful fingers moved under his bangs to gently press and rub along the wound, gauging the extent of the injury. Prompto nearly jumped, surprised, before he held still, allowing Noctis to check the scrape. “Noctis… I’m glad you found me,” he eventually murmured.

“…” What Prompto didn’t expect was Noctis’s expression falling as he pulled his hand back and rubbed his forehead with a heavy sigh.

“What’s wrong?”

Noctis didn’t answer immediately, but finally he said, without removing his hand, “I’m sorry…” Before Prompto could respond to the apology, though, Noctis murmured, “Just as I looked away…you got taken away…”

“It’s not your fault, Noctis… I don’t blame you…”

Noctis didn't appear to be listening as he was mostly mumbling to himself. “I should’ve been more careful…I…”

“Don’t say something so different, or I’ll get carried away and act spoiled,” the blonde said softly in a teasing manner.

Noctis fell silent then, and he regarded Prompto for a moment more before he sighed as they continued on ahead.

Then Prompto took the yokai’s hand in his with a warm, reassuring smile. “Let’s go home.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And heavy deviation from original plot starts...NOW!!

It had been a few months since Kuja had kidnapped Prompto and Noctis had saved him, and through some sort of weird chain of events that even confused the land god himself to the point where his head spun and hurt if he even thought about it, Kuja ended up as Prompto’s second familiar, residing at the shrine with Noctis, himself, Zidane, and Mikoto. Which, as anyone could imagine, led to frequent fights between the two, and Prompto having to break them up. And speaking of Noctis…

Prompto’s feelings for the fox had only gotten stronger over the past few months, and he really wanted to tell the raven how he felt, but he was scared to. After all, Noctis showed practically no signs that he felt anything for Prompto, except back during the incident with Kuja. Even then, it was like the yokai had gone back to his old self. To top it off, he couldn’t help but remember Noctis’s words back during the ordeal with Cloud and Zack, that love between humans and spirits is forbidden.

However, the blonde had some hope, considering he wasn’t a normal human now, and was the land god. Despite this, though, the contemplation of his feelings had been distracting him more and more lately, and hence disrupting his practice with his powers. Which Noctis was noticing and critiquing him heavily for. And the more it had been happening, the less confidence Prompto was having in his abilities.

Finally, though, after he had retreated to his room from the most recent critiquing, Prompto whimpered as he sat on his bed, not sure about being the land god anymore. Sighing heavily, he picked up a white talisman and wrote something on it before sticking it to himself, and leaving the shrine without a word to anyone.

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Noctis groaned as he headed for Prompto’s room to inform him dinner was ready, running a hand through his hair. He was NOT in the best of moods already, what with Kuja taunting him at every turn on a daily basis, and it didn’t help that Zidane and Mikoto seemed to have taken a liking to the snake familiar, too.

And Prompto was being too nice, too, which _totally_ didn’t sit right with Noctis.

‘…what am I doing?’ he thought to himself with an annoyed growl as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. ‘Stop thinking too hard on this. Just do your damn job.’

And with that thought, he raised his hand and knocked loudly on the land god's room. “Oy, Prompto!” he called out. “Dinner’s ready!”

He was about to head back to the kitchen, but he stopped after only a single step, his ear twitching briefly. When he heard nothing, he frowned and stepped back to the door, placing his ear against it.

He heard nothing.

“…oy, idiot,” he called out, knocking again. “If you’re not coming out in ten seconds, I’m coming in.” He waited for the allotted ten seconds, before he sighed and said, “I warned you…” before he stepped inside…and froze when he realized the blonde wasn't there. “…wha…?”

As he began to realize that the land god had disappeared, Noctis began to tremble subtly, his fingers curling around the doorframe.

‘…son of a bitch…!’

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Meanwhile, Prompto walked quietly through town, the white talisman on his shirt concealing him completely from anyone’s view. He didn’t want to be found at the moment, and his heart ached. Why would his heart ache, you ask? Because he truly felt that Noctis didn’t care much about him. After all, he often called him an idiot, had been hard on him lately during his training, and showed no sign that he felt remotely similar.

A sudden noise had him looking up, and he spotted one of Noctis’s will-o-wisps flying by overhead, appearing to be searching for him. Not wanting to be found, even with the talisman’s help, Prompto walked away from the will-o-wisp, tears beginning to form in his eyes.

Honestly, he felt he had nowhere to go. Sure, everyone at the shrine had been good to him, but Noctis was hard on him, and was the main exception to this. After all, he loves Noctis. It was unbelievably painful, to say the least, when someone doesn’t return your feelings…

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

As the sun disappeared beneath the horizon, Noctis growled in annoyance as regarded the city from the back of the night fog coach. The fact that Prompto had just left without saying a word struck him as odd, since the blonde had never seemed the type to just up and disappear. After everything they’d already gone through, him disappearing as he did was NOT on his list of things Noctis had ever expected to happen.

And absently he wondered what had triggered it…

“Sure you don’t need my help, dear?” a (far too) familiar voice chirped out in his ear, and Noctis spun around with a growl, almost hitting Kuja if the snake hadn’t jumped back with a cheeky giggle.

“Shut up,” Noctis snarled out softly.

“Hey now, I’m just trying to assist in finding our mutual master, dear,” the snake giggled, not seeming all that worried (when was he ever?). “Wouldn’t it be faster if we were to work together, hm?”

“I don’t _need_ your help,” Noctis growled, turning back to the city.

“Aww, that’s mean, dear.”

“And quit calling me that.”

Kuja merely giggled.

Noctis ignored the snake’s amusement as he thought for a moment. In the end, he groaned softly as he realized there might be someone who’d know where Prompto was. He wasn’t going to like talking to the damn bird, though…

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Somehow, as he’d been walking, Prompto ended up near an outdoor mall, and he happened to spot Zack, looking like he was waiting. He had an eager smile on his face, and suddenly, the raven jumped up when he spotted something, or rather, some _one_. He waved excitedly, and Prompto looked to see Cloud approaching. Once they were together, Zack hugged the taller blonde, and Cloud gave Zack a chaste kiss on the lips before they went off further along the mall.

‘ _Why can’t that be Noctis and me…?_ ’ Prompto thought sadly, before trudging along the sidewalk on an aimless path.

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Noctis ignored the people staring at him and Kuja as they walked through the crowds. He wasn’t in the mood to be dealing with humans right now (or any other day). Kuja seemed to not mind as much and even waved at some curious bystanders before he hurried to catch up to Noctis.

It seemed to take forever before Noctis spotted the person he’d been looking for, and he snarled softly in annoyance. ‘Why am I even doing this?’ he thought to himself before he sighed heavily. “Oy, tori!!”

Upon the shout, many people looked up, among which was a certain purple-haired tengu who’d been walking around the streets (in disguise), who briefly lowered a pair of sunglasses to look over the edge. “Oh? I wasn’t expecting to see you here, foxy,” Amane said with a curious hum. “What brings you all the way out here alone, hm?”

Noctis bit the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from saying anything nasty; he didn’t have the time to mess around, so it’d be best to make this easier on them both.

Unfortunately, Kuja did not get that memo.

“Oh, well, Nocty here seems to have scared off our master, is what~”

That was rewarded with a kick to the snake’s face. “Shut. _UP!_ ”

“…goodness me,” Amane sighed with a small shake of his head. “What did I miss?”

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Prompto sighed heavily as he sat down on a bench in the park, still invisible to everyone. He already missed being at the shrine, but at the same time, his heart hurt at the thought of going back and seeing Noctis again. A sudden breeze blew by, however, and the white talisman on his shirt blew off, blowing away in the wind…right as one of the will-o-wisps flew by, unnoticed by the blonde. As soon as it noticed the land god, it took off, seeking out its master to alert him of Prompto’s location.

As Prompto continued to sit there moping, the skies above seemed to feel like it was time for the plants to get their daily dose of water, as it began to pour, gradually soaking the land god, though he didn’t really care about that. However, as the cold began to truly penetrate him, a light from right in front of him made him look up…right at one of Noctis’s will-o-wisps.

“ _PROMPTO!!_ ”

The blonde didn’t say anything, he just whimpered and curled in on himself, knowing the raven was going to get mad at him for leaving the way he had.

As the will-o-wisp moved aside, Prompto was almost immediately yanked to his feet by the fox. “What the HELL, you idiot?! Why’d you run off without saying anything?! Are you _trying_ to get yourself in trouble again?!”

“…” The blonde couldn’t bring himself to say anything, as he didn’t know what to say. Or rather, he knew what he wanted to say, but couldn’t bring himself to voice it. Instead, tears began to run down his cheeks, not that it was easy to tell in the rain, and he lowered his gaze to the ground, biting his lip as his body trembled.

Snarling at the blonde’s silence, Noctis resisted the urge to actually hit the land god up the head. Because that would be incredibly counterproductive. “We’re going home,” he stated with a small snarl, grabbing Prompto’s arm and beginning to drag him away from the bench.

Instead of going with, however, the smaller male resisted, planting his feet into the ground and leaning back somewhat to brace himself from being pulled. “No.”

Startled, Noctis turned back to the blonde, watching him for a few moments, before he growled. “What do you mean ‘no’?!”

“I can’t go back, Noctis…” the blonde mumbled, a slight hitch in his voice. “I don’t belong there…”

“The hell…?” the fox mumbled, frowning, before he groaned. “Haven’t we been through this before? And I don’t intend on discussing this _again_ in this weather! Get _moving!_ ”

“Noctis, no, you don’t get it,” Prompto insisted. “I don’t _want_ to go back. It hurts…to think about staying…”

“I’m _NOT_ having this conversation _HERE!_ ” Noctis snarled as he abruptly yanked Prompto off of his feet and over his shoulder, spinning on his heel to start walking off, grumbling in annoyance.

“Noctis…! PUT ME DOWN!!” the blonde yelled, not wanting to go back _at all_. And, of course, the order immediately made Noctis drop Prompto, causing the blonde to hit the ground, _hard_. “Ah…!” the smaller male gasped in pain, before he sat up and glared at Noctis with tear-filled eyes. “This is why I can’t go back! I can’t stand being around you when I feel the way I do! It hurts too fucking much!!” As he finished speaking, a sob tore its way from his chest.

“Wha…?” Noctis blinked, twice, confused. “What are you…?”

“You are so fucking dense!” Prompto screamed in frustration. “I’m trying to say that I love you, but you’re too thick to get that!!”

“…!!” Noctis’s mouth dropped open in surprise, and for the longest time, he just stared at the blonde. “…y-you…?”

“Just leave me alone…” the blonde whimpered, finally looking away as he drew his knees to his chest.

“…” Noctis didn’t respond to those words; he just watched Prompto silently. But then, after a moment, he moved around and to Prompto’s back, where he dropped down and solemnly wrapped his arms around the blonde; one arm around his stomach, and the other resting the hand in his hair. Prompto stiffened at the touch, his mind fighting with his heart. His heart yearned for the attention Noctis was currently providing, but his mind felt the fox was just being a good familiar.

Noctis didn’t say anything; he just stayed there and held Prompto close, resting his chin on top of the blonde’s head, curling over him as though he was trying to protect him from the rain that was still falling.

Finally, after several minutes, the land god whispered, “Why…?”

“…” The fox refused to say a word. At least for a moment. “…why what?”

“Why are you doing this…? I’m so confused now…” Prompto whimpered.

Noctis merely held Prompto for a long time, running his fingers through Prompto’s hair. “…I don’t want you to cry…” the fox mumbled after a moment.

“…If that’s the only reason you’re doing this, then go…” the smaller mumbled, trembling with emotion.

“…I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“…because you’ll leave…” Noctis breathed. “…I don’t want you to leave…”

“And I _told_ you, I can’t stay if I’m stuck with my feelings for you and you don’t feel the same…!” Prompto choked out, a sob wrenching its way from his throat. “It hurts so much…!”

Noctis softly shushed him, rubbing his fingers along his head, tugging him closer with the other arm.

“Don’t do this to me, please…” the blonde pleaded as his tears mixed with the rain.

“Prompto…”

“What…?”

“…stay…please…”

“Not when you don’t feel the same…”

“…” Noctis didn’t say anything in response to that, but he did move the hand in Prompto’s hair to the side of the blonde’s head. This caused the smaller male to tense, uncertain of what the fox was doing. Noctis’s fingers rested along his cheek for a moment, before the fingers curled around to his chin. And even then, Prompto remained still.

And then, Noctis suddenly moved Prompto’s face, and he moved forward and pressed his mouth to Prompto’s firmly. The blonde froze, his eyes snapping open, before he squeezed them shut, trying to pull away. It was too good to be true, that Noctis would possibly love him back…

But Noctis didn’t let him pull away; if anything, he only pulled him closer, making him turn around at the same time. However, Prompto whimpered, before a sob escaped him as he still struggled. He wouldn’t be able to deal with the pain of being kissed by the raven and not be with him. Finally, Noctis pulled away, though he refused to let go of Prompto.

“Don’t…don’t hurt me like this… You don’t love me…!” the blonde sobbed.

“…Prompto…” Noctis looked like he was going to say anything else, before he curled his arm around the blonde’s shoulders, and then locked the other under Prompto’s knees, lifting him up. This time, Prompto was unable to fight him, as another heart-wrenching sob escaped him unbidden. Noctis didn’t say anything as he speed-walked away, until he stood beneath an overhang, shielding them from the rain that was still coming down around them. Even then, Prompto continued to sob and tremble in the fox’s hold.

Once they were out of the rain, Noctis sighed as he briefly adjusted his hold on Prompto. “…Prompto…?”

“Wh…what…?”

“…why do you…?”

Prompto struggled to stop crying so he could speak, and after about five minutes, he mumbled, “I care about you…no matter what you say… Even though you’re hard on me…I still want to be with you… A-and you’ve protected and cared for me so much… I couldn’t help but fall for you…and I fell hard… So it hurts to think about being near you when you don’t feel the same…”

“…I see…”

“…?”

Noctis didn’t say anything for a long moment, as he stood there, watching the rain fall quietly. Prompto eventually stopped watching the yokai, beginning to shiver lightly from the chill to his skin as he looked at the ground.

“…love…huh…?”

The blonde nodded minutely, confirming the words.

As he did, Noctis looked down at the human he was still holding. “…oy…”

Hesitantly, Prompto looked up with a timid look on his face. The moment he did, Noctis lifted the arm supporting the blonde’s shoulders while he ducked his head down, locking their mouths together again. And when he did, the fight in the smaller male died, and he kissed back, unable to keep his heart from hurting further. A whimper escaped him as they kissed, and the tears started up again due to the painful throbbing in his chest.

Noctis shifted his head just slightly, and then his lips parted and his tongue slipped out to slip along the blonde’s lips, almost teasingly. This seemed to snap Prompto out of his haze, and he pulled away again, his eyes opening to reveal his bloodshot gaze.

“Fucking dammit…” he hissed. “Why are you doing this to me?! Don’t fuck with my feelings, Noctis!”

Noctis regarded Prompto for a moment, but there was something in his eyes that hadn’t been there before. “…I…”

“What?!”

“…” The fox opened his mouth to speak…but nothing came out.

“Just tell me!”

The words were sudden and made the fox jump, almost causing him to drop Prompto, though his hands tightened marginally. “I…I’m not messing around.”

The smaller male frowned, before saying firmly, despite the slight quiver to his voice, “Tell me what you mean.”

“I mean…!” Noctis almost choked out, the order (quivering as it was) forcing the words out for him. “I-I love you, too.”

The blonde’s bright blue eyes widened in shock instantly, and he stared at Noctis for the longest time, as though making sure he wasn’t being tricked or lied to. If anything, Noctis looked just as shocked at the words that had just come from his own mouth as Prompto had. And on top of that, there was definitely a redness to his cheeks that hadn’t been there previously.

“…Are you serious?” Prompto whispered, watching the raven for any sign of deceit.

“I…ah…”

Then the smaller male narrowed his eyes. “I swear on my life, Noctis, if this is just to get me back to the shrine, I will never forgive you,” he growled.

That seemed to snap Noctis out of it and he growled dangerously. And then he abruptly dropped his arm from under Prompto's knees and spun them around until Prompto was up against the wall, his hands on his shoulders keeping him up. "Are you an _idiot?!_ ”

The smaller male yelped as he was pinned, before snapping back, “This is why I can’t be sure! You call me names and act like you don’t fucking care!”

“ _Think_ for a second, will you?!” Noctis nearly shouted. “You _know_ I can’t deny an order! You _know_ I’m bound to that! How do you think I’d be able NOT to!?”

This seemed to cause the blonde to simmer down, and he lowered his gaze to the ground, ashamed. “…I’m sorry… After everything between us and everything you’ve said and done…I can’t help but be unsure…”

Growling, Noct put his forearms to the wall and moved until they were right up against each other and the only thing keeping Prompto up on his feet was the fact that their chests were pressed up against each other. “Do you even know WHY it’s forbidden?!”

“No…”

“Because humans don’t live that long,” Noctis snarled. “Humans live, maybe, up to a eighty years…spirits can live for _centuries_.”

Prompto whimpered, feeling guilty as the tears began anew. He was so sick of crying, dammit!

“…stop…” Noctis suddenly mumbled, moving closer and still and silently kissing the tears away.

“I’m sorry…” Prompto choked out, unable to stop the flow of tears. The fox continued to breathe out the word “stop” with every kiss he placed on the tears, as his hands came up to curl in Prompto’s hair. Eventually, the blonde’s tears slowed and then stopped, and he gave the fox a hesitant look, as though he was scared of being hurt again.

“You really…love me…?” he asked quietly.

“…idiot..." Noctis hissed out, pressing their foreheads together and looking him right in the eye. “… _don’t_ make me say it again…” he snarled, before he tilted his head and caught Prompto’s lips with his own. Prompto couldn’t resist the kiss from the raven this time, especially knowing he feels the same, so he closed his eyes and kissed back.

This caused a small rumbling growl to escape Noctis’s throat, as he pressed even closer, beginning to once again lick over the blonde’s lips, almost begging to be let in. And this time, Prompto complied, parting his lips willingly to allow the fox entry. Noctis hummed in response, slipping his tongue inside and curling it around Prompto’s teasing and tugging it.

The smaller male shivered in response, moving his tongue along with Noctis’s slowly. Noctis gave a sound that was almost like a purr as he pressed forward, still, his fingers curling around the back of Prompto’s ears slowly. A soft moan was emitted from Prompto’s throat, as he wrapped his arms around Noctis’s waist.

After what felt like hours, Noctis finally pulled away, though he refused to let go of the blonde. And Prompto wasn’t about to pull away, either. Instead, he leaned into Noctis’s chest, lightly tightening his grip on the fox’s waist.

“…oy…” Noctis murmured after a moment. “…let’s go home…”

The land god looked up at the taller male, a small, tired smile curving his lips as he nodded. “Yeah… Home sounds good…”

“Good…” Noctis mumbled, moving back and pulling him away from the wall. And with that said, Prompto allowed himself to be taken back home to the shrine, held closely by Noctis the whole time.

 

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

When the pair returned to the shrine, Prompto was immediately bombarded by Zidane and Mikoto, as Kuja watched from behind the twins.

“Dude, what the hell?!” Zidane nearly whined. “Why’d you run off like that?! You’re gonna give us a heart attack one of these days!”

“Lord, please…don’t do that again…” Mikoto got out, and the poor girl looked like she’d been crying.

“I’m sorry, guys... Wasn’t exactly in a good place…” Prompto sighed, before he smiled slightly at Noctis. “It won’t happen again, though.” He then noticed Kuja staring at Noctis’s arm around the blonde’s waist, and he mentally sighed, waiting for the snake to say something.

“Oh, I see…” Kuja hummed softly, before he allowed a giggle as he twirled a strand of hair around his finger. “And are we safe to assume that’s been thoroughly remedied now, hm~?”

“ _Shut up, hebi,_ ” Noctis snarled out icily.

“Everything’s fine now, Kuja,” Prompto sighed, trying to prevent a fight from breaking out. “Right now, though, I just want to get some rest.”

“Okay,” the familiar murmured. “Should I prepare the bed, then?”

“Won’t be necessary,” Noctis snarled out, much to the amusement of Kuja, as he pushed Prompto to his back lightly.

“Leave him alone, Kuja,” Prompto said firmly as he inwardly relished the fox’s protective nature.

“Hihi~ Yes sir~” Kuja giggled, merely watching as Noctis led Prompto back to his room. Once in his room, the smaller male shivered lightly, still pretty damp from the rain earlier. Just then, a fluffy towel suddenly landed on his head. But before Prompto could question it, Noctis was already working on drying him off.

Prompto chuckled softly, looking at the raven. “Thank you,” he murmured.

“…” Noctis regarded him for a moment, before he sighed and returned his attention to what he was doing. “…welcome…”

Now that they were alone, the blonde thought he would be able to see more of what he’d seen back at the park, but now it seemed like the fox was reverting back to his old self again. It made Prompto feel almost…disappointed, to be honest.

“…what now?” Noctis sighed out, catching the shift.

“…You’re acting almost like nothing happened earlier…” Prompto mumbled.

At that, Noctis groaned in a clear display of annoyance. “Am I?” he asked as he pointedly toweled off the blonde’s arm. “Pretty sure I would’ve just tossed you the towel and be _done_ with it normally.”

“Sorry.. You’re right…” Prompto agreed softly. “Guess I’m still subconsciously unsure… It just feels like it’s too good to be true…”

Noctis merely snorted as he removed the towel—at which point he began to work on removing the blonde’s shirt. The smaller male’s eyes snapped wide open from being half-closed, and he blushed as he let the raven tug his shirt off. It was still wet, and needed to come off if he wanted to warm up at all. And of course, the fox didn’t seem the least bit bothered by it, his focus entirely on drying the human in front of him.

Prompto shivered lightly as he was toweled off, wondering just what Noctis was thinking at the moment. Noctis, of course, displayed no emotion whatsoever as he dabbed the towel at the last remaining droplets…right before he moved his hands to Prompto’s pants.

That’s when Prompto stopped him. “I-I can take them off,” he stammered, his cheeks tinted pink with embarrassment.

“Hm?”

The blonde unbuckled his belt, his hands almost trembling from his nerves. He didn’t want to undress in front of the raven, but he also didn't want to upset him by leaving the room to change. Noctis didn’t say anything, he just waited until Prompto had ditched the pants, shoes and socks, before he crouched down and silently continued what he’d been doing.

And still, the smaller male watched Noctis, biting his lip a little as he contemplated whether he should ask Noctis to stay in his room with him tonight, or if that would be too soon. Noctis refused to say anything, though, as he instead lifted up Prompto’s foot so he could properly dry the limb off. Prompto held still, allowing the fox to do his task, the blush on his face beginning to fade.

Finally, Noctis finished drying the blonde off and he rose back to his feet. Once the fox was standing, Prompto murmured a soft thanks, lowering his gaze shyly. He felt like a shy teenager again, if he was being honest with himself.

Noctis folded up the towel, and he snorted briefly before he asked, “Do I need to heat up dinner?”

“No, I just want to sleep at this point, to be honest,” the smaller male replied.

“…fine,” Noctis murmured solemnly as he turned to head out of the room.

“Noctis, wait,” Prompto called out softly.

“…” Noctis stopped walking halfway to the door.

“…Would you…sleep in here tonight with me?” the blonde asked nervously.

“…sure.”

Prompto blinked in pleasant surprise, but then gave a relieved smile. “Thank you.”

Noctis merely hummed in response, as he moved to start fixing the bed quietly. In the meantime, Prompto slipped on a plain black t-shirt, choosing to just sleep in the shirt and his boxers tonight, which had somehow managed to stay dry. Once he was done, he turned back to Noctis. As he looked over, he noticed that Noctis was pulling out some extra pillows and blankets. Smiling faintly at the thought of sharing a bed with the yokai, Prompto went over to the fox to try and help.

“Need some help?” he offered.

“…it’s fine…” Noctis mumbled simply. So Prompto merely waited until Noctis was done, just watching him as he set up the bed for them. Once he was finished, Noctis solemnly regarded Prompto, as if expecting him to say something.

“Let’s get some sleep, Noctis,” the land god murmured, moving to get into bed. Noctis merely hummed as he moved into the bed as well, settling down quietly. Prompto settled into bed with a quiet, relieved sigh, before looking at the fox with him. “Goodnight, Noctis,” he whispered with a faint smile.

Noctis watched him quietly, seeming to think, before he sighed as he reached out. And then, without giving Prompto the chance to ask, he pulled the blonde up against him. A startled noise escaped the smaller male, before he relaxed fully against the raven, humming contently as he wrapped his arms around Noctis in response.

“…g’night…” Noctis mumbled softly.

“Goodnight…love you…” Prompto breathed as he closed his eyes, soon drifting off to sleep.


End file.
